UK government’s first Muscat repatriation flight still grounded, 130,000 registered

A UK government-chartered repatriation flight from Muscat, scheduled by the Foreign Office to depart on 4 March, has not taken off, leaving many British nationals who registered for help uncertain about their return plans. The flight is described by officials as the first government-arranged evacuation for Britons in the wider Middle East, but public reporting shows conflicting departure times and continued disruption to commercial air links.

The BBC reported the charter was due to leave Muscat International Airport at 23:00 local time on 4 March (19:00 GMT). The Independent cited a Foreign Office reference to a 7pm Wednesday departure without giving a timezone. The discrepancy has not been reconciled in public statements and the Foreign Office has said it will contact eligible passengers directly and that people should not travel to the airport unless they have been officially called. The BBC paraphrase of the FCDO line states: "The Foreign Office said it would contact British nationals to secure them a seat on the flight, and urged people not to make their way to the airport unless they have been officially called."

The government said the charter will prioritise the most vulnerable and will be open to British nationals, their spouse or partner, and children under 18. The Independent adds that dependents who are not British nationals will require "a valid visa or permission to enter or remain granted for more than three months." ITV quoted FCDO messaging laying out operational priorities and a caution that Brits in Oman must wait to be contacted: "We are also working with airlines on increasing capacity out of Muscat for British nationals, with priority for vulnerable nationals, and a government charter flight will fly from Muscat in the coming days, prioritising vulnerable nationals. But British nationals in Oman must wait to be contacted by the Foreign Office regarding these options, and we will continue to work 24/7 on supporting British nationals in the region."

The scale of demand is substantial. Officials say roughly 130,000 people have registered on the FCDO's Register Your Presence service in the region; the government has highlighted registrations in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. ITV noted that the foreign secretary has previously estimated some 300,000 British citizens are in Gulf countries, underscoring that registration does not capture everyone present. The original government line provided to reporters said "more than 130,000 British nationals have registered their interest in leaving the Middle East region."

Commercial options are limited but not absent. British Airways has announced a Muscat to London Heathrow commercial service departing at 02:30 local time on Thursday (22:30 GMT Wednesday), and some flights to the UK have been arriving from Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in recent days. Passengers flown from Abu Dhabi told Good Morning Britain they experienced "chaos" after being given only ten minutes' notice to get to the airport, a report that highlights the operational strain on travellers and airlines as Gulf airspace remains heavily restricted and thousands of flights have been cancelled.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has cautioned that the situation "may remain challenging for some time" and said the government is "looking at all options to support our people," adding it is "in close contact with the travel industry and governments in the region, including with our friends in the UAE, given the concentration of British nationals in that country, and we’re looking at all options to support our people. We want to ensure that they can return home as swiftly and safely as possible." Images from Muscat show Oman Air aircraft lined up at Muscat International Airport, underscoring the congestion facing operators as the Foreign Office works with airlines and rapid deployment teams to increase capacity.