BBC:
A flight chartered by the UK government to bring back some Britons stranded in the Middle East will depart “imminently”, a minister has said.
Problems with getting passengers on board meant the plane, which had been due to leave Oman’s capital Muscat on Wednesday, stayed grounded.
But just before 12:00 GMT on Thursday, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer told MPs the flight was due to leave soon, with the government “determined” to get people home as “swiftly as possible”.
Thousands of British nationals remain stuck in the Middle East since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday prompted retaliatory strikes by Iran across the region.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel asked what the government was doing “to get [UK nationals] back home”, and why “Britain was so woefully unprepared” for the conflict with Iran.
More than 130,000 Britons in the region have registered for updates from the UK government.
Falconer described the situation as “a consular challenge on a scale not seen since Covid” and said there were “no instant solutions”.
He said more commercial flights had been laid on from the region, with 10 anticipated to depart on Thursday.
Regarding the delayed flight, Home Office minister Alex Norris had earlier told LBC: “It didn’t take off because there are operational reasons… about getting passengers on board, and it wasn’t able to happen in the time that it had to happen.”
Those eligible for the government flights are being asked to pay for their seat. When announcing the initial flight, the Foreign Office said it would prioritise the most vulnerable people, and that only British nationals, their spouse or partner, and children under 18 would be offered a seat.
