First UK repatriation flight to leave Oman on Wednesday

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - A ‌British chartered ​flight ​will leave Oman on Wednesday evening, prioritising vulnerable UK nationals who want to leave the ‌region after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle ⁠East, the British Foreign Office said.

British Airways, which is currently unable ‌to fly from Dubai, ‌Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Amman and Tel Aviv, said it would also operate a flight from Oman in ​the early hours of Thursday local time.

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans have been stranded in the Gulf states ⁠since Iran responded to U.S. and Israeli strikes by attacking its neighbours. Those ​stuck in the region are on holiday, in transit or permanently based there.

British Foreign Secretary ​Yvette Cooper told parliament on Tuesday ‌she was in close contact with her counterparts in the Gulf and said Britain ⁠was working with airlines on increasing capacity out of Muscat, Oman.

The government said some 130,000 British citizens have registered their presence ⁠in the region.

The Foreign Office said the chartered flight would depart ​from Muscat at 1900 GMT on Wednesday. It said it would be open to British nationals and their spouses or partners and ‌children, but would prioritise the most vulnerable first.

"British nationals should not make their way to ‌the Muscat International Airport unless they are called," it ⁠said.

(Reporting by Sarah Young and ‌Sam Tabahriti in ​London and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Writing by Kate Holton; Editing by William James and Jamie ‌Freed)

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