Scale up evacuation

Europe vows to scale up evacuation efforts as travel chaos persists

By Billy Stockwell, Sharon Braithwaite and James Frater

Repatriation flights from the Middle East are underway as countries around the world grapple with how to bring their citizens to safety amid the widening war with Iran.

At least six flights supported by the European Commission have left the region since Wednesday, bringing European citizens back home to Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and Slovakia, the European Commission said in a statement. Additional repatriation flights are planned in the coming days, the statement said.

“In response to the recent developments in the region, the Commission is taking every possible step to ensure the safety of EU citizens by supporting Member States in coordinating repatriation flights from the Middle East,” it added.

The US State Department has pledged to increase flights “across the region” after saying late Wednesday that more than 17,500 American citizens had returned to the US from the Middle East since February 28.

Elsewhere, evacuations flights have departed from regional hubs like Dubai and Jeddah, while France, Germany and the Czech Republic have also begun arranging flights out of the Middle East.

The UK said today that technical issues delayed the country’s first charter flight out of the Omani capital of Muscat since the conflict began, but added the plane was due to take off shortly. More flights are planned in the coming days, it said.