Priority: The Safe Return of Polish Citizens

The situation in the Middle East had been deteriorating gradually for several weeks. The Polish government repeatedly warned about the possibility of an armed conflict and advised against travelling to the region.

“I personally strongly warned several times against travelling to that area because of the risk of conflict. But it happened, and some people made that choice because they had no alternative. Therefore we must treat everyone without exception as our citizens who need the state’s assistance in this difficult situation, full stop” - emphasised Donald Tusk.

Due to the situation in the Middle East, the government decided to send an aircraft to Oman to assist people requiring medical care.

“Within several hours, the aircraft with this medical priority should land in Oman. Among those waiting there for transport is a seriously ill Polish woman. The plane will go primarily for those who are ill, but whenever possible we will also evacuate anyone who needs help” - said the Prime Minister.

Donald Tusk assessed that Poland’s preparations for the evacuation operation are more advanced than those of countries most directly involved in the conflict.

At the same time, the Prime Minister renewed his appeal not to travel to the Middle East.

“Fairly large groups are still deciding to travel to countries in the region for tourism. The government cannot prohibit anyone from flying to areas threatened by conflict, but if someone really does not have to travel there, they should not go” - the Prime Minister appealed.

He also assured that government and military aircraft remain ready for further evacuations of Polish citizens, although the situation related to the war in the Middle East remains unpredictable.

“Not all airports in the region are open and ready to receive Polish aircraft. In the United Arab Emirates alone there are 400,000 EU citizens, and more than 10,000 Americans are waiting for the possibility of evacuation. All countries are objectively facing a difficult logistical situation” - said Donald Tusk.

The Prime Minister appealed to Poles staying in safe locations, for example in hotels in Dubai, to remain there until they receive precise instructions.

The Military, Diplomacy and LOT on Standby

During the meeting of the coordination team, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz presented key information on the readiness of the armed forces to support the evacuation operation.

“The armed forces are ready to provide all assistance necessary to evacuate Polish citizens from endangered areas. Transport capabilities are being planned, but they will only be used once we are certain that the entire operation will be safe” - explained Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski informed that the evacuation of Polish citizens from Israel and Jordan is nearing completion. From both countries, several hundred people have been transported by land to Egypt. Egyptian authorities have kept their airspace open and airports operational.

The situation is more complicated in Lebanon, but the largest group of Polish citizens is currently in the United Arab Emirates.

“The Emirates are planning around 100 flights operated by their airlines in the coming days, and we are working to ensure that as many of them as possible also arrive in Warsaw” - said Radosław Sikorski.

Minister of Sport and Tourism Jakub Rutnicki reported that since yesterday 574 people have returned to Poland from the conflict-affected region.

“At the moment we are focusing on transporting Polish citizens from the United Arab Emirates to airports in Oman. We currently have six connections planned with Oman, which will allow around 1,000 citizens to return to Poland. Over the next few days, nearly 1,800 Poles will safely return to our country” - he emphasised.

Poland’s national carrier, Polish Airlines LOT, is supporting smaller travel agencies in bringing Polish citizens back to the country.

“We have scheduled a flight tomorrow to Sri Lanka and then onward to the Maldives, from where we also intend to bring our citizens home. The day before yesterday we brought back Poles who had been travelling in Israel and had moved from there to Cairo” - said Minister of Infrastructure Dariusz Klimczak.

Larger aircraft have been dispatched to transit locations, including India, to collect passengers who want to return to Poland. Further flights of this type will also be carried out in coordination with LOT.