Austria should be airlifting its 18,000 stranded citizens out of the Middle East—but it can’t, because both of its military transport planes are grounded.
One of the country’s two Hercules transport aircraft is in long-term maintenance. The other has a damaged fuel tank. An officer told reporters that “we cannot currently say when this [second carrier] will be repaired.”
Chancellor Christian Stocker stressed on Monday that “no one will be left stranded,” adding that sufficient flight capacity will at some stage be provided for all those who wish to use it. The German paper Junge Freiheit later argued that evacuations would be far less problematic had it not been for years of Stocker’s “austerity measures regarding the armed forces,” noting:
If Austrian citizens can no longer rely on the support of their own state in such a crisis, it constitutes an unprecedented breach of trust.
Of the roughly 17,700 Austrians registered in the region, around 1,700 are travellers. The cancellation of standard flights has reportedly seen the number of those stranded increase by around 5,000 every day.
Herbert Kickl, leader of the populist FPÖ party, also expressed his frustration with the situation, describing it on Monday as a “scandal of the highest caliber.”
For Ukraine, the NGO swamp, and company, no billion is too much for the establishment parties, while Austrians are coldly left in the lurch.
Kickl said those responsible for this failure should “step down.”
Other European countries have, of course, also faced difficulties bringing their citizens home. None more so than France, with nearly 400,000 French nationals resident or temporarily present across the Middle East.
In many areas, citizens are being advised not to seek evacuation but to remain vigilant. Though this may change if—as looks likely—the war continues to expand.