The crisis in the Middle East region, which erupted in late February and began with airstrikes by Israel and the United States on Iran, followed by retaliatory strikes by Iran on other countries in the region, posed a serious challenge for hundreds of Latvian travelers, writes Latvijas Avīze.
Several countries closed their airspace, canceling regular flights, which forced people to seek alternative ways to return home. As part of a repatriation operation organized by Latvia, 569 Latvians stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were brought back home at the end of last week.
In response to the critical situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and the airline airBaltic, organized the transportation of people from Dubai to Riga. Four special flights were arranged on March 6, 7, and 8. Initially, 624 people requested assistance for departure from the UAE in the consular register of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the total number of registered Latvians in the region reached 825. Some travelers decided to leave independently or with the help of other European Union countries.
Organizing the special flights required significant financial resources. The Latvian government decided at an extraordinary meeting to allocate 752,000 euros from contingency funds for these purposes. The cost of one such flight was approximately 150,000 euros, which included aircraft preparation, crew provision, and expenses for technical landings in Heraklion, where crew changes took place.
On average, the transportation of one person cost the state about 1,000 euros, but it was not entirely free for travelers. The government ruled that each passenger must contribute co-financing of 350 euros for a seat on the special airBaltic flight.
Various opinions could be found on social media regarding this: some expressed understanding that the state should help its citizens, while others criticized that the wealthy, who can afford to travel to the UAE, should find their own way back. Those stranded in Dubai also gave mixed assessments of the repatriation process, with complaints about a lack of communication, especially in the first days.
