Since the beginning of Belgian Government-led evacuations, 432 Belgian travellers stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been repatriated to Belgium, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prévot's office on Monday.
Around 100 citizens of other European Union countries have also been accommodated on Belgian flights.
On Monday, 63 Belgians and 15 EU nationals are set to return to Brussels on a military flight departing from Dubai via Hurghada in Egypt. The plane is expected to land in Belgium on Tuesday around 1:30 am, concluding Belgium's repatriation operation from the UAE.
All Belgian nationals stranded in the UAE who registered on the TravellersOnline platform were offered seats on Belgian repatriation flights.
Those who register after the operation's closure will be prioritised for seats on flights organised by other EU countries. In recent days, approximately 40 Belgians have been repatriated via flights arranged by other EU nations.
Belgium also arranged the transportation of 45 of its citizens and eight other EU nationals by bus from Doha (Qatar) to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). From Saudi Arabia, they were able to book commercial flights.
EU repatriations
Additionally, European citizens stranded in the Middle East were also repatriated through the European Commission's rescEU mission, Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said on Monday.
Two flights have brought EU citizens from Oman to Romania in the first-ever deployment of rescEU passenger planes to repatriate stranded EU citizens. This marks a significant milestone in expanding the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM), said Lahbib.
Belgium has begun to repatriate citizens using a military plane. On Sunday, the first repatriation flight landed at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, bringing 195 Belgians back from Oman.
Belgium also requested additional resources from the EU via rescEU. The EU has supported 42 flights so far, bringing back over 4,100 European citizens to various Member States, including Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Romania, and others. Additional flights are planned in the coming days.
Passenger planes were established as part of rescEU’s expanded capabilities in September 2025, but this is the first time such consular assistance has been activated.
A total of 23 Member States have requested assistance for repatriations. In these situations, the European Commission can cover up to 75% of transport costs, provided at least 30% of passengers are citizens of other EU Member States.
