Фото: "Белавиа"
About 1,000 Belarusian tourists are stranded in the United Arab Emirates, and around 300 in Oman, Ihar Charhynets, генеральный director of Belavia, said on the Belarus 1 television channel.
There are also some Belarusians stranded in Israel, although their number is not large.
“Flights to Tel Aviv are suspended, but the situation there is less acute because these are not mainly tourist trips. Some people are stranded, but the numbers are not very large,” Charhynets said.
According to Charhynets, Belavia is in contact with the Foreign Ministry and Belarusian embassies.
“This is not one or two countries but an entire region that is popular with us: business, business contacts, transit. All categories of passengers are at risk and waiting to be evacuated. In theory, it is possible to travel to another country and depart from there, but almost the entire region is blocked. We are working with the Foreign Ministry and embassies — the situation is not simple, but in some cases it works,” the Belavia chief executive said.
Charhynets stressed that flights will operate only when their safety can be guaranteed.
Today Belavia organized its first repatriation flight from Dubai to Minsk on a Boeing aircraft with a refueling stop in Aktau. The next flights are scheduled for tomorrow and the day after on Airbus aircraft without refueling stops.
The Belavia chief executive noted that the flights are unprofitable, but passengers will not have to pay extra.
“It is a loss for the company, but we are not asking for additional payments. That is not our policy,” Charhynets said.
The National Tourism Agency estimates that more than 2,500 Belarusian tourists are currently in the UAE and more than 3,000 across the entire region.