The first two Smartwings flights from Oman are scheduled to land at Prague’s Ruzyne Airport late this evening, transporting an estimated total of around 400 people, mainly travel agency clients, Smartwings spokesperson Vladimira Dufkova told journalists today.
The company resumed its flights to Oman today, with two departing from Prague in the morning.
A flight from Muscat is scheduled to land in Prague around 11pm. After midnight, a flight from Salalah is expected to arrive.
“There may still be some changes during the afternoon,” noted Dufkova. She stressed that these were not routine repatriation flights, but said it was possible that people who were not in the Middle East with travel agencies would also be able to board.
The United States and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iranian targets on Saturday. Tehran responded by firing missiles and sending drones to Israel and US bases in the region, striking Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan.
According to the Drozd voluntary registration system, there are about 6,700 Czechs in the affected region. Airspace is closed in a number of countries.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) said this morning that the Czech Republic would send one military Airbus to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and one to Amman, Jordan, to repatriate Czech citizens, with any free spaces offered to citizens of Slovakia or other countries. Smartwings will evacuate Czechs from Oman for the time being.
Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) said the Airbus flying to Egypt should also pick up 79 people who are heading to the country by bus from Israel. If necessary, the plane could return for more people. The other Airbus should fly to Jordan in the afternoon.
“Smartwings is prepared to send up to eight flights a day as needed,” Babis said, adding that it was up to individuals to decide whether to stay in Dubai, currently probably the safest place in the Middle East, or to try to find another way out. “We don’t know if the Dubai airport will open or not,” the prime minister noted.
People who are stranded in the United Arab Emirates and travelled there with travel agencies are safe, have a place to stay, and food to eat, according to Jan Papez, vice-chair of the Czech Association of Travel Agencies (ACK), and representatives of travel agencies who spoke to CTK today. Travel agencies have mostly extended their customers’ stays and are in contact with them via their delegates on site and by phone.
“Those who are in Abu Dhabi have received an offer from the local government to pay for their accommodation and meals until flights from Abu Dhabi resume,” said Papez. “I assume that a similar proposal will be made in Dubai.”
Until then, he added, people must look after themselves, or seek help from the travel agency that took them to their destination. “But so far, it’s not a fatal situation where people would have nowhere to live, nothing to eat, or their lives would be in danger,” he noted.
According to currently available information, the conflict is set to continue and will not be resolved immediately, said Babis.
Smartwings has around 3,000 clients in the region, said Babis. The Czech Republic is also waiting to see if any of its citizens will be able to board other repatriation flights heading to Warsaw and Bratislava. However, the state is unable to assist tourists in other destinations who were supposed to transfer to another plane in the Persian Gulf area.
“Their airlines should take care of them and transport them to other destinations, mainly via Egypt,” said Babis.
On Sunday, the prime minister said that Czech citizens should respect the recommendations of the countries in which they were located. They can use the Foreign Ministry’s emergency hotline at +420 222 420 222, which has been reinforced with extra staff.
