According to sources, the Swedish government has decided to charter a plane to bring home Swedes stranded due to the war in the Middle East. The chartered plane is for 180 particularly vulnerable Swedes. Sweden's Foreign Affairs Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard stated that the government has chartered a plane to bring home 180 of the most vulnerable Swedes stranded in Dubai.
She explained, 'Now the airspace is partially opening up and a few more planes can fly. ' The airspace is partially opening up, allowing a few more planes to fly, creating an opportunity to fly 180 Swedes home with one plane, Stenergard said. The chartered aircraft is expected to depart from Dubai on Saturday evening and land in Sweden on Sunday, according to government sources.
The plane will land in Hurghada in Egypt for refueling and then come to Sweden on Sunday, as reported. Stenergard noted there are uncertainties which may affect whether the plane can land and then take off from Dubai, but the exact nature of these uncertainties has not been specified. , those with medical needs) and families with children under five years of age, as identified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Stenergard added, 'We have identified approximately 300 families to whom this applies. ' The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has identified approximately 300 families who qualify for the flight. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is striving for cost price: about 12,000 kronor for an adult, 9,000 for children, and free for children under two years of age.
Now the airspace is partially opening up and a few more planes can fly. This creates an opportunity for us to fly 180 Swedes home with one plane.
More chartered flights have not been ruled out, though how many more might be arranged remains unclear. The Danish Foreign Ministry, together with Sweden and Finland, is arranging a bus from Doha to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to bring home stranded travelers. Around 4,300 Swedes are in the United Arab Emirates, half of whom are considered stranded travelers.
Travel companies say it is difficult to arrange seats on existing flights because few flights are being operated and seats disappear quickly. Martina Krantz from Apollo, a Swedish travel agency, noted, 'There are still so few flights being operated. When seats are added to the systems, they disappear in principle within a minute.
' On Friday morning, March 6th, Apollo still had 140 passengers left in the United Arab Emirates. Travel agency Ving had 54 travelers in Dubai and Qatar and nearly 200 stranded in other destinations as a result of the outbreak of conflict in the Gulf. Anna Hagberg at Ving remarked, 'Things are still uncertain.
' The airline Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi, announced it would resume regular flights on Friday, on a limited basis, to and from around 70 destinations, including Copenhagen. Emirates, based in Dubai, made a similar announcement on Thursday and mentioned 82 destinations, but none in the Nordic countries. Qatar's airspace remains closed.
We have identified approximately 300 families to whom this applies. We will start contacting those who are relevant for this departure.
Benjamin is at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai with his family and is one of 180 people offered by UD to be chartered home from the conflict-affected region on Saturday. ' There was confusion at the airport, and staff there did not seem to know how to handle the Swedish-chartered plane. ' The plane has also been delayed because passengers did not fill in their information correctly to UD and some forgot to check in with the representatives.
The Swedish delegation at the airport could not answer questions about why the trip was delayed. Benjamin observed, 'I had expected well-read representatives who could answer questions. ' Canadian citizens received water and snacks at the airport from the Canadian delegation.
Benjamin noted, 'They stood and welcomed their citizens fully informed and could answer all questions. ' Most Swedish families at Dubai's airport just want to go home and have expressed frustration about communication and cost. Aftonbladet has previously reported that Benjamin swished over 50,000 kronor to Swedish UD.
According to reports, Sweden is chartering a plane to fly home travelers who have become stranded as a result of the Iran war.