Over 2,600 Bulgarians Evacuated from Middle East and Iran, MFA Says

More than 2,600 Bulgarian citizens have left countries in the Middle East and Iran since the start of the evacuation efforts, according to information from the Situation Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as of 09:30 today. A large portion of the evacuations took place from the United Arab Emirates, where 1,258 Bulgarians departed on flights organized by the Crisis Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism. Another 876 people returned through flights arranged by tour operators.

The Consulate General of Bulgaria in Dubai assisted passengers on all flights, regardless of whether they were organized by the government or private companies. In total, six flights were carried out from the UAE under the coordination of the Bulgarian government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Tourism, with logistical support from the Ministry of Transport. At the same time, private companies organized five additional flights at their own expense, including services by Bohemia with 174 passengers, Bulgaria Air with 180 people, and three Fly Dubai flights transporting 174 travelers. According to the consulate in Dubai, airports in the emirate remain operational and at least three major international airlines continue to run flights.

Authorities are now preparing further evacuations by land from Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain through several routes leading to Saudi Arabia. A charter flight with 180 seats is scheduled to depart from Riyadh to Sofia on March 10. So far, 49 Bulgarian citizens have been evacuated from Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia with the assistance of the Foreign Ministry. Earlier today, 15 Bulgarians arrived in Athens from Doha on a flight organized by a partner country. Another 21 people - 14 from Bahrain, six from Saudi Arabia, and one from Qatar - were evacuated on an Austrian flight from Riyadh to Vienna under the EU’s cooperation mechanism. An additional 13 citizens were transported from Riyadh to Budapest on a flight arranged by Hungary.

Evacuation operations are also underway elsewhere in the region. With the support of the Bulgarian Embassy in Tel Aviv, 18 Bulgarian citizens on short-term stays in Israel have left the country via land routes. Since March 8, Israel has begun gradually reopening its airspace for outbound commercial flights under strict conditions, allowing only Israeli airlines such as El Al, Israir, and Arkia to operate flights from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, with a limit of up to 100 passengers per flight.

The Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring the situation in Lebanon and is prepared to act if necessary. So far, 35 Bulgarians have contacted the Bulgarian Embassy in Beirut and received guidance on available travel options, including the remaining civilian flights.

Meanwhile, the staff of the Bulgarian Embassy in Tehran - six employees and four family members - were evacuated by land to Baku. Eight of them have already returned to Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Embassy in Baghdad also assisted a citizen who left Iran via a land route.

Separate evacuation efforts have taken place in Oman, where 111 Bulgarian citizens returned to Sofia on March 5 aboard a Bulgaria Air flight from Salalah, located about 1,000 kilometers from Muscat. Another seven people left Oman independently with assistance from the Foreign Ministry. In Jordan, the Bulgarian Embassy helped 130 tourists traveling with tour operator agencies.

At present, there are no Bulgarian citizens awaiting evacuation from Iraq. In total, 20 people have already left the country through land crossings into Turkey or Jordan.