Poland has sent two military aircraft to evacuate Polish tourists stranded in the Middle East, as travel across the region remains heavily disrupted by the intensifying conflict.
Thousands of tourists and expats from a host of countries have been trying to escape the Middle East, especially the Gulf states, since Israel and American launched strikes on Iran on Saturday morning.
Iran retaliated by firing drones and missiles at targets across the region including, the Gulf states.
“The aircraft from the Polish Air Force have taken off from Poland to support the evacuation of Polish citizens from the Middle East,” the Polish Armed Forces announced on X on Thursday.
Although the Armed Forces made no comment on the destination of the aircraft, the Flight Radar website showed on Thursday morning that two aircraft from Poland were bound for Muscat in Oman.
On Wednesday, Jakub Rutnicki, Poland’s tourism minister, said that the military planes would depart on Thursday morning specifically for Oman, as reported by the Polish Press Agency.
Commercial air traffic across much of the Middle East has been largely suspended for the past five days due to the intensifying conflict.
The disruption has stranded thousands of Polish tourists across the region, including in major Gulf hubs such as Dubai, home to the world’s busiest airport for international passengers.
It remains unclear how many passengers will board the two military flights. However, Poland’s defense minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said on Wednesday that around 100 people requiring medical support would be given priority.
The move comes after Polish President Karol Nawrocki approved the deployment of Polish Military Contingent “Middle East” to assist in evacuating Polish citizens from the region on Wednesday at the government’s request.
Up to 150 troops have been authorized to support the operation.