Georgia concludes evacuation of citizens from Middle East

A special Sunday flight from Muscat to Tbilisi has brought back Georgian citizens whose timely departures from Middle Eastern countries could not be arranged by commercial airlines, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.

This week, the Georgian government organised four special flights for citizens stranded due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. More than 600 Georgians requested assistance through embassies in the region, returning safely from Muscat (Oman) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Sputnik Georgia reports.

Given the current instability in the Middle East and disruptions to air travel caused by the closure of airspace in several countries, the government decided to operate these special evacuation flights.

The flights follow a series of recent military strikes: on February 28, the U.S. and Israel targeted sites in Iran, including Tehran, reportedly causing civilian casualties and destruction. In retaliation, Iran launched missile strikes on Israeli territory and U.S. military facilities in the region.