UK arranges flights for Britons stranded in Israel

Those who will be travelling on the flight have been notified by text message. A number of countries have already completed flights to get people home from Israel, including Canada, France, Italy and Poland…reports Asian Lite News

The UK is arranging flights to get stranded British nationals out of Israel, the Foreign Office has said. The first plane was expected to leave Tel Aviv on Thursday, with more flights planned “in the coming days, subject to security”.

Those eligible to leave will be contacted directly and British nationals should not go to airports unless they are called to. A team of diplomats has been sent to Israel to help people flying to the UK.

The Foreign Office said it is “working to ensure the flight can proceed as soon as possible.” The UK government said earlier this week it would not arrange evacuation flights because commercial routes were still available. But British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, EasyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Air France, Lufthansa and Emirates have all suspended flights in recent days.

The government-arranged flights will be chartered by the Foreign Office but are commercial services. Each passenger will be charged £300. A statement said British nationals, including dual nationals, and dependants if travelling with a British national normally resident in the UK, would be invited to take up seats.

Those who will be travelling on the flight have been notified by text message. A number of countries have already completed flights to get people home from Israel, including Canada, France, Italy and Poland.

Most airlines stopped flying direct between Israel and the UK earlier this week, and Virgin Atlantic and British Airways pulled their last remaining daily service on Thursday after a BA flight was forced to turn back over security concerns.

Julius is eager to return to London as he is the primary carer of his 92-year-old mother, who has chronic health issues. His children in London have stepped in to help care for her while he is away. “It’s not optimal that we are stuck here, to put it mildly,” he said. After a BA flight was cancelled, he said the airline “tried to book us on every possible route” but all flights were “absolutely full”.

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