Kazakhstan ramps up evacuation flights across Middle East
In coordination with government agencies and organizations, domestic and foreign airlines, efforts are underway to evacuate Kazakh nationals from the Middle East, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Committee.
"On March 3, flydubai operated two flights on the Dubai–Astana and Dubai–Almaty routes, transporting 306 passengers (151 and 155, respectively). For the time being, Air Astana is conducting evacuation flights from Saudi Arabia scheduled for March 3. These include two flights from Medina using Airbus A320 aircraft with a total capacity of 290 seats, and two from Jeddah using Airbus A321 aircraft with 339 seats.
SCAT Airlines has scheduled a repatriation flight on the Almaty–Muscat (Oman)–Almaty route to evacuate citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan using a Boeing 767 aircraft with a 290-seat capacity. The flight is scheduled to depart from Almaty at 7:00 PM local time. Carriers plan to continue performing evacuation flights for citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, taking into account the current situation in the Middle East," the statement says.
It is noted that authorities are continuously monitoring the situation and coordinating appropriate actions.
"Citizens of Kazakhstan are advised to stay calm, maintain contact with airlines and diplomats, and follow only verified information sources," the Committee added.
Earlier, Astana and Almaty welcomed the first group of Kazakhstanis from Dubai amid Middle East tensions.
