Strategic hubs paralyzed and thousands of travelers waiting. Students, tourists and workers involved: here is how the Italian government is organizing the return and what the alternative routes are.
There are tens of thousands of Italians who find themselves stranded in the Middle East and do not know exactly when they will be able to return to Italy, after the Iranian retaliation led to the intermittent closure of the airspace of the Gulf countries. And it is above all the paralysis of the airports of Dubai and Doha that causes the greatest inconvenience given that they constitute fundamental stopping points also for those arriving from Thailand, the Maldives or other Asian countries. Given the emergency situation, the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, and the Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto, who returned from Dubai, shared the latest updates yesterday in front of the Foreign and Defense Committees of the Chamber and Senate.
The task force
In support of the Italian community, Tajani pointed out that the Farnesina has established a “Gulf task force” with the aim of strengthening the work of the Crisis Unit, as well as the embassies and consulates. «It is a team of fifty people», with the same telephone number as the Crisis Unit but «with a switchboard that sorts» the calls. So far, “over 7,000 calls and several thousand email contacts” have been handled, the deputy prime minister continued. Who added: «We have invited all our compatriots to be extremely cautious, not to move, to stay in their homes and hotels, to carefully follow the instructions of our embassies and local authorities».
The overview of the Italians present in the region
During the hearing, Tajani announced that “there are over 70,000 compatriots in the region, including permanent and temporary presences”, of which “around 30,000 are in Dubai and Abu Dhabi alone”. These are “residents, workers, soldiers, tourists, pilgrims”. As for Israel, there are “20,000 Italians” residing in the country. And in Iran there is talk of 500 compatriots “almost all residents”. Guaranteeing that the government “is doing everything possible”, he announced the good news: “There are no Italians involved in the attacks, neither civilians nor soldiers.” He then ruled out evacuation missions. He clarified that “it is not possible for European airlines, due to the ban, to go to war areas and neither can military flights.” There therefore remains the possibility of “using aircraft in the Gulf area” and “fostering the creation of charter flights”.
The United Arab Emirates
The most complex situation concerns the United Arab Emirates, in particular Dubai and Abu Dhabi, given that the Emirates airline has temporarily suspended flights, sharing updates day by day. As for his compatriots, Tajani declared that “in the late evening” of Sunday “a group successfully transited from the Emirates to Oman” thanks to “the assistance coordinated with the Embassies in Abu Dhabi and Muscat”. The group of 127 people landed last night in Italy, at Fiumicino airport. And in this regard, other flights will be organized from the capital of Oman. The Crisis Unit is in fact working to «facilitate the transfer of Italians to countries where flights are available, in particular from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Oman, from Bahrain and Qatar to Saudi Arabia».
The 200 students stranded in Dubai
The odyssey of the 200 students who arrived in Dubai for the “Ambassadors of the Future” project will soon end. The Foreign Minister announced yesterday that “the Emirati authorities will make a special Abu Dhabi-Milan flight available for the group’s return”. The students therefore left the hotels in Dubai at 7.00 this morning to be escorted to Abu Dhabi, from where the plane headed to Malpensa will depart.
Qatar and Bahrain
For compatriots who are in Qatar and Bahrain, the Farnesina is working to “bring Italians who want to leave to Riyadh airport”.
Maldives and Thailand
For compatriots stranded in the Maldives, “the procedures for organizing charter flights” were activated yesterday. The deputy prime minister announced that «the Neos company is organizing» in fact «paid charters to pick up many Italians». Tajani continued, “we are trying to do the same in Thailand, in India, in Colombo” given that “most of the flights to the East pass through Dubai”. Among other things, “an operational network is also being organized with the Embassy in Colombo and New Delhi to obtain life-saving medicines for those in urgent need”.
Israel
Regarding the Jewish State, Tajani reported yesterday that “a group of pilgrims are leaving Jerusalem: some have gone to Egypt, some have gone to Jordan”. At the moment no departure from Tel Aviv is planned “because there are continuous attacks”.
Iran
However, there are no requests for evacuation from Italians residing in Iran. However, Tajani underlined: «We are ready, however, to intervene if necessary» also because «since January the evacuation procedures for compatriots and Italian System personnel» present in Iran have been updated. And if the situation worsens further, it will be possible “to organize a convoy within a few hours from Tehran”. While “buses are already ready” on the Azerbaijani side of the border.
