(Adnkronos) –
Amid a widening conflict in the Middle East since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran at the weekend with hundreds of major air hubs in the Gulf closed for a fourth day, Italy’s government on Monday reassured its citizens it was working to fly them home “in collaboration with local authorities”.
“We are working tirelessly to assist our compatriots stranded in the Middle East. In response to the current emergency, we are facilitating, together with the Italian embassies in the region and in collaboration with local authorities, a number of flights to repatriate our compatriots,” a foreign ministry statement cited foreign minister Antonio Tajani as stating.
On Monday, some 300 people were due to be flown home aboard two special commercial flights from Muscat, Oman, to Rome’s Fiumicino airport, while 200 people, including students mainly under 18, were set to fly home aboard a flight from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the statement said.
Two more Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi to Italy have been arranged, one at 14:20 to Milan and the other at 14:40 to Rome. These flights are intended to re-route passengers who were unable to fly earlier with the airline, the statement continued.
Another flight from Muscat has already been scheduled for Wednesday, the statement added.
A bus shuttle service has been set up from UAE to Oman and the first transfers are already underway, according to the statement.
Transfer instructions are being sent to Italian citizens in the UAE who have registered on the foreign ministry’s ‘Travel safely’ (Viaggi Sicuri) app or on the www.dovesiamonelmondo.it website, the statement noted.
A similar transfer system is being set up from Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar to Saudi Arabia, said the statement, urging citizens to only follow official communications and to register on the Viaggiare Sicuri app or on www.dovesiamonelmondo.it for any updates for updates.
Since the US-Israeli attacks targeting over 1,250 military sites in Iran since Saturday, the Islamic Republic has retaliated with missile and drone strikes against not only Israel and US forces but also a host of US-allied countries across the region, including a suspected drone strike on the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force base of Akrotiri in Cyprus.
