UK opens charter flights booking portal for Britons in Dubai
The Foreign Office has opened a booking portal for British nationals in Dubai who wish to access government charter flights to leave the Middle East region.
Thousands of Britons have been stranded in the region, including in Dubai, after the US and Israel’s conflict with Iran led to widespread airspace closures and cancelled flights.
The most vulnerable will be prioritised for booking onto charter flights and the Foreign Office has said it will contact those who have registered their presence in the region.
The government began operating flights out of the region earlier in the week from Muscat, Oman. Two have returned to the UK so far and a flight from Dubai is scheduled for early next week.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to be affected by the conflict.
On Saturday, a Dubai resident was killed after shrapnel from an “aerial interception” fell on a vehicle in the Al Barsha area, the Dubai Media Office said.
More than 160,000 British nationals have registered their presence in the region with the Foreign Office.
On Saturday, the government announced it will run a commercial charter flight from Dubai, available for a charge. British nationals, their spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 are eligible to register.
Earlier, Emirates airline said it had carried about 30,000 passengers out of Dubai on Thursday and had operated 35 flights to the UK since resuming services.
The BBC’s Nick Beake, who was at Dubai Airport on Friday morning, said it felt calm and quiet on Friday, with a steady stream of passengers arriving. He added that there was no visible gathering of expats trying to leave.
British people stranded in Dubai have told the BBC about their experiences, including Victoria Cameron, from Larkhall in Scotland.
On 28 February, Cameron told the BBC she was was queuing to get into her Dubai hotel when the first Iranian missiles struck the city.
“Our phones were going off, saying ’emergency, emergency’. We were crying, we were shaking,” she said.
She arrived back in Edinburgh on Wednesday on an Emirates flight.
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