Germany scrambles to rescue thousands of citizens stranded in the Middle East
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German Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul said crisis teams have been sent to several countries to explore the possibility of evacuating Germans.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BERLIN – Germany said March 2 that it would send chartered planes to Saudi Arabia and Oman in an effort to evacuate thousands of tourists stranded by the Middle East war.
Some 30,000 Germans have been affected by the travel chaos, according to the German Travel Association, since US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered retaliation that has seen Iranian strikes across the region and beyond.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said “we will send aircrafts to Riyadh and Muscat as quickly as possible for particularly vulnerable groups”, adding that he was in talks with national carrier Lufthansa to arrange the flights.
“The safety of our citizens is our top priority,” said Mr Wadephul.
Crisis teams had been sent to Muscat, Doha and Dubai to explore the possibility of evacuating Germans from these locations, including overland, he added.
A team from the German embassy in Cairo was assisting with border crossings from Israel, he said.
Around 5,000 passengers are stuck on two TUI cruise ships in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, according to German media, with reports of crying children and a general mood of fear.
“We were not allowed to leave the ship,” one woman tourist, a police officer, told the NTV broadcaster. “We are well looked after, but I don’t feel safe.”
TUI Cruises said that “due to the continuing dynamic situation in the region and limited flight connections, we are in close contact with the airlines to enable reliable planning of return journeys”.
Lufthansa told AFP that one of its planes had left Abu Dhabi for Munich on March 2, but with no passengers on board because it lacked the required cabin crew to ensure their safety.
“The possibility of carrying passengers has been examined, but unfortunately this is not possible,” the airline said.
The pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit, which has been fighting for better conditions, said it would not call any industrial action this week.
“In the current situation, repatriation flights, passenger safety and the maintenance of air freight supplies are of the highest priority,” it said. AFP
