Poland launches evacuation of citizens from Middle East

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Poland has launched a military operation to evacuate citizens stranded in the Middle East due to the fallout from the US and Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iran.

Military command announced that the first two planes took off from Poland early on Thursday, with tourism minister Jakub Rutnicki revealing that they are heading for Oman.

Thousands of Polish citizens are stuck in the Middle East, with the largest numbers in the United Arab Emirates. Poland’s defence ministry has repeatedly said that the air force is ready to carry out evacuations if needed.

But the foreign ministry initially ruled them out, saying they posed serious risks and that it was up to travel agencies and airlines to organise returns once airspace reopens. The ministry also noted that it has for weeks been warning Poles against travel to the Middle East due to the growing risk of a conflict.

However, the government has come under growing political pressure to send evacuation flights, amid criticism from the opposition and media reports about Poles stuck in the region.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk initially announced that one military plane would be sent to evacuate a Polish woman from Oman who was in urgent need of medical assistance.

Later in the day, he said the government would send a request to President Karol Nawrocki, who is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to approve a broader evacuation mission involving the military.

“We must treat everyone, without exception, as our citizens who need government assistance in this difficult situation. End of story,” Tusk said during a meeting of a special task force to coordinate the response.

Late on Wednesday, the president’s National Security Bureau (BBN) confirmed that Nawrocki had signed a resolution to deploy a Polish military contingent for an evacuation mission in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE.

Meanwhile, as commercial flights resume from certain countries in the Middle East, some Poles have also been able to return by other means. Almost 600 had returned on Tuesday and Wednesday, noted Rutnicki yesterday.

“Poles from the region are returning to the country via resumed air connections,” said foreign ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór, quoted by news website Interia. “However, there is a group of our citizens that requires special support.”

Wewiór said that around 10,000 Polish citizens are in the UAE and Oman, and that the consular service has identified over 100 who need medical support and will be evacuated by the military.

“We are currently focusing on transporting Polish citizens from the UAE to airports in Oman,” said Rutnicki on Wednesday, before the military evacuation flights had been announced.

“We currently have six flights scheduled to Oman, which will bring approximately 1,000 citizens back to Poland. Over the next few days, nearly 1,800 Poles will safely return to our country.”

Emirates, the UAE’s national airline, is planning around 100 flights out of the country in the coming days. “We are trying to ensure that as many of them as possible fly to Warsaw,” said foreign minister Radosław Sikorski.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Boeing (press materials)

Olivier Sorgho

Olivier Sorgho is senior editor at Notes from Poland, covering politics, business and society. He previously worked for Reuters.