Britain’s only Middle East evacuation fails to take off from Oman | UK | News
Britain’s first government-chartered repatriation flight from the Middle East reportedly never left the ground on Wednesday night, with families trapped on the bus underneath the plane in scenes described by one passenger as “a complete spectacle”.
The escape from Muscat had been heralded as the Foreign Office’s first move to return British citizens home; This was the only organized evacuation in the region in the five days since the conflict began. It was supposed to leave at 23:00 local time, or 19:00 in the UK.
Instead, a series of technical and administrative glitches brought the boarding process to a halt, according to Sky News. Passengers, including families traveling with young children, found themselves stranded on the tarmac of a bus as the situation around them worsened. Some people started to get nervous. Others beat on the windows. Some of them had panic attacks.
One passenger told the TV crew that the chaos that ensued was “incredibly serious” and that consular officials on the ground were conspicuous by their absence.
The final blow came when the pilot was dismissed after exhausting his legally allowed flying hours. The entire group was sent back to their hotel. A new departure is expected on Thursday.
The State Department has been contacted for comment.
The fiasco on the ground in Muscat unfolded as Israeli forces launched a new round of attacks on Iran on Thursday morning, with massive explosions echoing across Tehran. Iran responded with missiles targeting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The number of Britons waiting to return home remains huge. Around 130,000 British citizens have registered their whereabouts with the Foreign Office, which is in talks with airlines about opening more routes out of the region.
The Muscat departure, which was canceled on Wednesday, remains the only flight organized by the government since the conflict began. A small number of commercial services from Dubai and Abu Dhabi returned to the UK on Monday and Tuesday, but the vast majority of stranded citizens are still waiting.
Yvette Cooper signaled to MPs on Tuesday that getting British citizens home was a “number one priority” for the Foreign Office, and had previously pointed to Oman as the most suitable starting point for any evacuation effort.
For those stranded in Dubai, the emirate where most British tourists and expats concentrate, Muscat represents a 280-mile road trip before they even get on a plane.
Passengers caught in the crisis are advised to closely monitor their airline or tour operator’s communications and review their travel insurance coverage before attempting to depart.
