The first charter flight carrying British nationals back to the UK from the Middle East has departed from Oman, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Thursday. The flight, originally scheduled for Wednesday evening, took off just before Starmer’s Downing Street press conference, where he described the evacuation as one of the largest operations of its kind.
The airlift is taking place against the backdrop of continued US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with missiles and drones also hitting other regional states. More than 2,000 people arrived in the UK on Wednesday on eight flights from the United Arab Emirates, with a further ten flights expected on Thursday.
Starmer said: “This is a huge undertaking. It’s one of the biggest operations of its kind, many times bigger than the evacuation from Afghanistan. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we will not stop until our people are safe.” However, the government faces criticism from MPs and British nationals in the region over the pace and scale of the effort.
A passenger named Mark on the Oman flight described the situation as a “complete shambles” with “loads of issues with check-in” and “no communication from the craft or the crew” while stuck on a transfer bus. Conservative leader and Labour backbencher Emily Thornberry raised concerns about difficulties identifying British consular staff at Muscat airport.
British Airways announced it would run a fourth daily flight from Muscat to London Heathrow, a route it does not usually serve, departing on Saturday. Over 140,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East with the Foreign Office, including more than 100,000 in the UAE. Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister, described the situation as “a consular challenge on a scale not seen since Covid” with “no instant solutions”.
