UK’s first evacuation flight delayed due to ‘operational reasons,’ minister says

LONDON

The UK’s first evacuation flight for British nationals seeking to leave the Gulf has been delayed due to “operational reasons,” a government minister said on Thursday.

A UK-chartered flight scheduled to depart from Oman on Wednesday night was unable to leave as planned.

Home Office Minister Alex Norris told Sky News the government expects the flight to depart later.

"We expect that to be leaving today, we expect there to be multiple more flights following that," he said.

More than 130,000 Britons have registered their interest with the UK government in receiving help to leave the region.

Foreign Office officials said 138,000 British nationals in the Gulf had registered their presence with the government, including 112,000 in the United Arab Emirates.

The Foreign Office said two more chartered flights are expected to depart by the end of the week. Those eligible to travel on the government-arranged flights are being asked to pay for their seat.

Norris said officials were aware that some passengers were frustrated by the delay but said support was being provided on the ground.

"We know people are feeling stressed, our people are on the ground, including at the airport, helping them support them through that."

He added that the government had paid for hotel rooms while travelers waited. "Things obviously are fast-moving and do take a little time to stand up."