First UK repatriation flight from Middle East delayed to Thursday, Sky News reports

A British flight to repatriate UK nationals after the outbreak of war in the Middle East did not take off as scheduled from Oman on Wednesday night and has been rescheduled for later on Thursday, Sky News reported.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The British Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

The flight, which was scheduled to depart from Muscat at 1900 GMT on Wednesday, was open to British nationals and their spouses or partners and children, with the most vulnerable people having priority, the Foreign Office had said earlier.

“We have been told the plane will take off later today [Thursday] once the pilot has rested,” Sky News quoted an unnamed passenger, who was due to travel on the flight, as saying.

“We were told due to slow check-in and delays the pilot had clocked his hours so needed to rest,” the passenger added.

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans have been stranded in the Gulf states since Israel and the U.S. struck Iran on Saturday and Iran then attacked its neighbours. Those stuck in the region are on holiday, in transit or permanently based there.

British Airways ICAG.L, which is currently unable to fly from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Amman and Tel Aviv, said it would also operate a flight from Oman in the early hours of Thursday local time.