According to a task force with the Foreign Ministry as of 9.30 am on Saturday., a total of 1,207 Bulgarian citizens in the United Arab Emirates have received assistance as part of the operation to evacuate Bulgarians from the Middle East and Iran. Of these, 953 were evacuated through the Ministry’s task force, and 254 through tour operators, the Foreign Ministry said.
Three more evacuation flights from Dubai to Bulgaria have been scheduled for Saturday – two charters carrying 180 people each, and one carrying 220 people, with assistance from the Ministry of Tourism and tour operators.
In Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, difficulties are being reported due to closed airspace over Kuwait and a limited number of flights from Qatar. In recent days, the number of Bulgarian citizens requesting evacuation assistance from Kuwait has increased by 40 people. Groups of Bulgarians have been transported overland from Kuwait to Riyadh, from where they continue to Sofia on commercial flights. Evacuations have also been carried out through the EU cooperation mechanism – a total of 21 people were transferred on an Austrian flight from Riyadh to Vienna.
On March 4, the team of 10 people from the Bulgarian Embassy in Tehran – six staff members and four family members – was evacuated from Iran. In total, there are 48 Bulgarian citizens in Iran, along with 14 family members holding Iranian citizenship.
In Israel, international airports remain closed, and departure is only possible via overland routes. A total of 14 Bulgarian citizens were evacuated across the border to Sharm el-Sheikh Airport in Egypt, and another two were evacuated to an airport in Amman, from where they took a flight to a European destination.
In Oman, on March 5 at 5.50 pm, a Bulgaria Air flight landed from Salalah with 111 passengers on board. Another seven Bulgarians left the country through individual routes with assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In Jordan, the Bulgarian Embassy assisted a total of 130 tourists, while in Iraq, 20 Bulgarians were evacuated overland through the borders with Turkiye or Jordan. Currently, there are no Bulgarian citizens in Iraq requiring evacuation.
The Ministry continues to coordinate the operation, including with allied and partner countries, and to provide up-to-date information on safe departure options from the region, the ministry said.