First UK government flight to leave Middle East with more planned

Some British nationals stranded in the Middle East are due to be flown home from Oman later on a government flight with more planned.

Sir Keir Starmer told MPs on Wednesday there would be two more flights in the coming days organised by the government to get people home, after Iranian missile and drone attacks in the Gulf grounded flights.

There will be eight commercial flights leaving the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, he added.

The first flight is due to leave Oman at 23:00 local time (19:00 GMT) and comes as more than 130,000 Britons have registered their interest in being helped to leave the region since war between the US and Israel and Iran broke out on Saturday.

British officials are looking at further ways to respond to what has been described as the biggest disruption to travel since the Covid-19 pandemic, with thousands of flights grounded.

The Gulf serves as a hub for several major airlines and is home to some of the world's busiest airports, serving passengers travelling to the region or transiting to further afield.

But airspace over the Middle East remains severely restricted, with flights completely or partially grounded over Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE and Israel.

Announcing the initial Oman repatriation flight, the UK Foreign Office said some British nationals, their spouse or partner, and children under 18 will be invited to board the aircraft leaving on Wednesday.

UK nationals who have left places like Dubai in the UAE for Oman ahead of the flight are being told to register their interest in returning to the UK on a charter plane, though demand is highly likely to outstrip the capacity of the single aircraft leaving on Wednesday.

The Foreign Office said it would "continue to work with airlines to find more routes for people to return home", and has advised against all but essential travel to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.

British Airways will operate two flights from Oman to London Heathrow on Friday and Saturday, which will be available to those with an existing booking with the airline who are in Oman or the UAE.

It said: "We remain unable to operate flights from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv."

The airline is also scheduled to operate a flight on Wednesday in addition to the government flight.

More than a thousand British nationals arrived back in the UK on commercial routes from the UAE on Tuesday, Sir Keir said.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is due to have further discussions today, the prime minister told Prime Minister's Questions, as he urged MPs to encourage constituents to register their presence with the Foreign Office if they are in the region.

A number of people have complained to the BBC that there has been a lack of information about available routes to travel home.

Cooper told MPs on Tuesday that the "safety and security" of British nationals was a "top priority".

Philip Johnston from Essex told BBC Your Voice he had been stuck in Dubai since Saturday en route home from Mumbai and had been advised he was not eligible for the first repatriation flight as he is not in Oman already.

He said: "I'm sitting in a nice hotel so I can't complain but I am just getting frustrated now."

British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have also registered their presence.

Muscat, the capital of Oman, is a 280-mile drive from the UAE's biggest city Dubai, where many of the British tourists and expats are currently based.

While many Brits remain stranded, a very limited number of flights to the UK have been operating from Dubai, which has seen hotels in busy areas of the city struck by Iranian drones.

Meanwhile, the UK government continues to set out its wider response to the crisis in the Middle East, including deploying a warship to protect Cyprus.

The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon will be sent to the Mediterranean to bolster defences around a British military base at Akrotiri after it was hit by an Iranian drone, though Treasury minister James Murray declined to confirm on Wednesday morning when the vessel would depart Portsmouth.

Emirates has suspended all commercial flights to and from Dubai on Wednesday, but is operating a limited number of repatriation and freighter flights, though passengers who have not been contacted by the airline have been asked not to go to the airport.

While most flights from Dubai have been grounded since Saturday, a limited number are scheduled to depart on Wednesday, including to London, Edinburgh, Johannesburg, Lisbon and Munich.

Etihad Airways has suspended all commercial flights to and from Abu Dhabi until 14:00 local time (10:00 GMT) on Thursday.

Qatar Airways, based in Doha, has said flights will be halted until the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of airspace.

Its passengers will need to wait until Friday at 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT) for an update. Anyone with a booking between 28 February and 10 March can apply for a refund or change the date of their ticket for free up to 14 days from the original travel date.

Airports in Cyprus have also been hit with disruption following a drone attack on the UK military base RAF Akrotiri on Sunday, with dozens of flights to and from Larnaca and Paphos cancelled on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Easyjet, TUI, Lufthansa, Cyprus Airways and Wizz Air are among the airlines affected, with flights to and from Europe and the Middle East grounded.

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