The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country will operate repatriation flights from Muscat, Oman, on March 7 and 8 to bring citizens home.
The flights will prioritize Singaporeans in Oman and the UAE, where about 60% of citizens who have e-registered with the ministry are located, The Straits Times reported.
MFA is also working with airlines and local authorities to explore additional repatriation flights as airports in the region gradually reopen.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang told reporters outside Parliament House on March 5 that MFA would launch assisted overland trips in the coming days to help Singaporeans in Bahrain and Qatar reach Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where airports remain open and commercial flights are still available.
Gan said MFA has deployed its crisis response team to the region, with three officers in Muscat and two more heading to Riyadh. She urged Singaporeans still in the Middle East to shelter in place and follow the guidance of local authorities.
Muhammad Hafiz, a board member of Singapore-based disaster relief agency Mercy Relief who had been volunteering at refugee camps in the West Bank, was among the first to land at Changi Airport on March 5 after escaping the Middle East overland through Jordan.
Hafiz said he received guidance from MFA and local partners that allowed him to reach Amman, Jordan’s capital, via land checkpoints.
He flew home on a Turkish Airlines flight, landing at Changi shortly before 8:20 a.m. as limited service between the UAE and Singapore resumed, The Straits Times reported.
The travel crisis began on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel carried out coordinated military strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, according to Israeli sources cited by Axios.
Iran retaliated with missiles and drones targeting Israel as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE. At least eight countries and territories closed their airspace.
Major airports across the region were shut or severely damaged. Dubai International Airport sustained damage from a suspected aerial strike that injured four staff, Bloomberg reported. One person was killed and seven injured at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport.
More than 20,000 flights have been cancelled since the conflict began, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium, stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers.
Multiple governments are now racing to bring their nationals home. The U.K. chartered repatriation flights from Muscat, British Airways organized a special flight from Oman to London, and several Indian airlines began operating repatriation services to the UAE, according to CNN and Euronews.
MFA has advised Singaporeans to defer all travel to Israel, Iran and the Middle East. Travelers have also been advised to make alternative arrangements for flights that do not transit through the region.
Singapore has announced to send more repatriation flights to bring stranded citizens home from the Middle East after the first ones landed at Changi Airport on March 5.
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