The Government has announced its first emergency evacuation flight to help stranded British nationals escape the war-torn Middle East.
A repatriation flight is currently scheduled to leave Oman’s Muscat International Airport at 11pm local time (7pm GMT) tonight and will prioritise the most vulnerable Brits first as attacks continue to explode across the region.
British nationals and their spouse or partner, and their children under the age of 18, with a valid travel document are all eligible.
The Foreign Office said it would contact British nationals to secure them a way out of the Middle East, and urged people not to travel to the airport unless they have been officially called.
British expats have been increasingly frustrated by the lack of urgency over getting them out of the Middle East – with British Airways running an emergency evacuation flight with more than 100 empty seats.
Despite around 130,000 Brits registering as stranded in the Gulf, around 100 pilots and crew members from BA and other airlines were flown from Muscat to Heathrow on Monday.
More than 11,000 commercial flights have been cancelled with 1 million people affected since airspace over the Gulf largely closed as the US and Israel launched a co-ordinated attack on Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has responded furiously with retaliation attacks across, targeting US bases across the Middle East – including a CIA station at the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia which was blown up on Monday.
But retaliatory strikes from Tehran have hit expat hotspots such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait – including hotels and airports. The US Consulate in Dubai was also rocked by a drone strike yesterday.
Smoke rises in Tehran as the US and Israel continue its co-ordinated attack on Iran
Iran has retaliated to the US and Israeli strikes with a barrage of missiles at neighbouring nations – some of which broke through air defence systems (seen in Sharjah City, UAE)
Desperate wealthy expats living in Dubai have been driving across the desert to escape the Middle East via neighbouring Oman or Saudi Arabia.
Trump has admitted in interviews that the US was not expecting Tehran to lash out against its Gulf neighbours who are not participating in the campaign but who house US bases.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs on Tuesday that the ‘safety and security’ of British nationals was a ‘top priority’.
Airlines are today ramping up their flights out of the Middle East while the war rages on.
Emirates is operating seven flights from Dubai to the UK while Etihad has two Abu Dhabi departures.
Virgin Atlantic will operate a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow.
British Airways has not restarted its usual flying programme from the region, but will run an evacuation flight to Heathrow from Muscat, which it does not usually serve.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer will face questions in the Commons over his decisions on the unfolding Iran conflict, after Trump unleashed fresh criticism of the Prime Minister.
The US president on Tuesday said Sir Keir was ‘not Winston Churchill’ in his latest rebuke of the Prime Minister, who did not allow American planes to launch their initial strikes against Tehran from British bases.
The Prime Minister meanwhile announced Britain would send HMS Dragon, one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 air defence destroyers, to defend Cyprus after RAF Akrotiri was hit by a drone.
The war between Iran and the USA will likely dominate the agenda when Sir Keir enters the Commons at noon today for Prime Minister’s Questions.
Mr Trump has said he is ‘not happy’ with the UK after it did not initially allow the US to use its bases for strikes on Iran, later adding in the Oval Office: ‘This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.’
Downing Street has insisted the US remains a ‘staunch’ ally despite the repeated broadsides from Mr Trump.
Thick black smoke billows into the air above the Jebel Ali port after getting struck by debris from an Iranian intercepted missile, in Dubai, on March 1
The US Consulate building in Dubai was up in flames on Tuesday after reportedly being struck by an Iranian drone
Cars queue outside a petrol station in Dubai on March 1 after attacks on Iran began and expats try to flee
Sir Keir decided on Sunday that UK bases, including the joint UK-US Diego Garcia site in the Chagos Islands and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, could be used in the conflict, but only so the US can strike defensively to protect countries being targeted by Tehran.
HMS Dragon is being readied to depart for the Mediterranean and will be accompanied by two Wildcat helicopters equipped with so-called ‘drone busting’ Martlet missiles, so it can protect Britain’s bases in Cyprus.
The warship, which is emblazoned with the Welsh red dragon on its prow, was pictured on Tuesday night at the Upper Harbour Ammunition Facility (UHAF) in Portsmouth harbour.
The Foreign Office updated its travel advice for Thailand early on Wednesday ‘due to the escalation in the Middle East’.
It said in a statement: ‘Escalation in the Middle East has caused widespread travel disruption, including airspace closures, delayed and cancelled flights.
‘Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East.’
Thousands of passengers stranded at Dubai Airport
Affected British nationals are urged to stay across the latest updates from their airline or tour operator and review their travel insurance policies before travelling.
Elsewhere, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said a vessel had been struck by a projectile off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE.
It said in a statement early on Wednesday: ‘UKMTO has received a report of an incident 7NM east of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
‘The Master reported the vessel being struck by an unknown projectile causing damage to the steel plating. There has been no fire or water intake. All crew reported safe.
‘Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.’
