First UK government repatriation flight from Middle East lands in London’s Stansted airport

The first flight chartered by the UK government to evacuate British citizens stranded in the Middle East landed at London’s Stansted airport after leaving Oman almost a day late due to technical problems.

The flight finally took off from Oman’s capital Muscat late on Thursday night local time, almost 24 hours behind schedule, and landed in Stansted at 00.53GMT on Friday.

The evacuation effort comes at a time when regional tensions are rising after US-Israeli attacks on Iran triggered retaliatory strikes and flights were halted or restricted in many Middle Eastern countries.

More than 140,000 British nationals in the Gulf have registered with the UK government for assistance, with more than 4,000 already returning from the UAE on commercial flights.

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