The Canadian government is working to repatriate nationals stranded in the Middle East by arranging seats on commercial planes, contracting charter flights and offering ground transportation options to neighboring countries, Canada’s foreign affairs minister said Wednesday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said more than 2,000 Canadians have asked the Canadian government for help leaving the region since the United States and Israel attacked Iran, with about half of those inquiries coming from Canadians living in the United Arab Emirates, 237 from Qatar, 164 from Lebanon, 93 from Israel and 74 from Iran.
Anand said he has directed his office to sign a contract for a charter flight from the United Arab Emirates within the next few days, subject to permission from the UAE government to use its airspace.
Anand said the government had reserved 75 seats for the flight departing from Beirut on Wednesday and would offer more seats in the coming days for people wishing to leave Lebanon. She said 200 Canadians with plane tickets were being transported by bus from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, and the government was “arranging” ground transportation for other Canadians who wanted to leave Qatar.
He said authorities are providing information to Canadians living in Israel about a bus service run by the Israeli government that will take passengers to the opening of the airport to Egypt.
In the biggest travel disruption since the coronavirus pandemic, commercial air traffic remained largely grounded in much of the region on Wednesday, with major Gulf hubs, including Dubai, the world’s busiest international airport, largely closed for the fifth day in a row.
Repatriation flights chartered by other countries including Britain and France were scheduled to depart on Wednesday, while the United Arab Emirates opened safe air routes to allow some of its nationals to return home. Under normal circumstances, thousands of commercial flights depart from the region every day.
“I want to speak directly to Canadians in the Middle East and the Gulf. Your government is with you. We are working hard for you and we are providing options for you to leave the region,” Anand said at a news conference.
Canada does not have a diplomatic presence in Iran and cannot arrange land transportation from Iran, but Anand said it does send personnel to border crossings to meet Canadians crossing the border and assist with visas and subsequent travel.
Canada has issued a travel advisory, asking Canadians to avoid travel to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, and to avoid non-essential travel to Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. (Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Chris Rees)
