Sarah Short is greeted by her son Finn Howard as she arrives at Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport on a flight from Muscat. Thousands more Britons stranded in the Middle East are returning home as airlines ramp up their flights from the region. Picture date: Thursday March 5, 2026. PA Photo. A UK Government charter flight is repatriating Britons from Muscat, but it has been reported there will be no major evacuation of the 130,000 British nationals who have registered their presence in the Middle East. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire (Image: PA)
British Airways has issued a warning that flights returning to the UK are ‘fully booked’, as the rush to get back from the Middle East intensifies.
In its most recent public announcement, the national airline of the UK cautioned that all services departing from Oman until 7 March are now fully booked.
« Flights from Muscat on 5, 6 and 7 March are now fully booked. We will continue to review the situation and, if we are able to, we will add additional services, » a spokesperson for BA stated at 2.14pm on Wednesday.
Oman is the nearest country with open airspace to key locations such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Out of the 136 flights scheduled to depart from Oman today, only 14 have been cancelled so far. This is in stark contrast to the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Lebanon, where the majority of flights remain grounded.
The latest guidance from BA reads: « We remain unable to operate flights from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv. We have scheduled further flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow departing on 6 and 7 March.
The tail fins of British Airways planes are pictured at Heathrow Airport in west London on February 27, 2026. IAG, the owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, said February 17, that its net profit jumped 22 percent last year thanks largely to lower fuel costs. Profit after tax rose to 3.34 billion euros ($4.49 billion) in 2025 compared with 2.73 billion euros one year earlier. (Photo by Brook Mitchell / AFP via Getty Images) (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
« Flights are for our customers with an existing booking who are in Oman or the UAE. If you wish to travel on one of these flights, please contact us via our dedicated phone line on +44 203 467 3854. Our teams will also be getting in touch with our customers. »
One BA flight bound for London Heathrow left Muscat after just a short delay this morning. Another is scheduled to leave at 2.30am local time tomorrow, and a third at the same time on Saturday.
Home Office minister Alex Norris has announced that a Government-chartered plane, which failed to depart from Muscat, is now scheduled to leave for the UK on Thursday. However, he was unable to provide an exact departure time.
Mr Norris expressed confidence that the first Government rescue flight departing Oman amidst the escalating conflict in the Middle East would take off on Thursday, following an overnight delay. When questioned by LBC as to why it had not flown, he explained to the broadcaster: « It didn’t take off because there are operational reasons… about getting passengers on board, and it wasn’t able to happen in the time that it had to happen. So that’s now going to go today instead. »
Earlier, Mr Norris informed BBC Breakfast: « We made sure we got them (the passengers) hotel rooms for the night as well, and we are facilitating and rebooking today’s flight. We hope that they do, and there’s multiple flights after it as well. »
In the meantime, Defence Secretary John Healey is en route to Cyprus to alleviate tensions with the island’s government following a drone strike on the British base RAF Akrotiri.
Mr Healey is anticipated to arrive in Cyprus later on Thursday. His visit follows the Cypriot high commissioner to Britain expressing his disappointment at the UK Government’s response to defending the island.
On Monday night, a hangar at RAF Akrotiri was struck by an Iranian-made Shahed drone, launched from Beirut in Lebanon, according to Cypriot officials. Two additional drones detected on Monday were sh.
Shot down by British warplanes which took off from Akrotiri. Britain has deployed air defence destroyer HMS Dragon to aid in the protection of Cyprus, but the Type 45 warship is not anticipated to set sail until next week.
Wildcat helicopters equipped with anti-drone capabilities have also been sent to the island, and are expected to arrive there this week.
In other developments in the conflict:
– Iran’s ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi was summoned by the UK Government on Wednesday.
– A US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
– Iran persisted in launching attacks at countries across the region, with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait targeted with missiles and drones.
– Western officials stated that the rate of Iranian missile strikes had declined, assessing that Tehran had several more days of capability to continue based on the current firing rate – although they warned that the decrease could also be a result of Iran trying to conserve its stockpiles.
– Turkey reported a « ballistic munition » launched towards it from Iran was intercepted by Nato air defences.
– Economic uncertainty continued over the conflict in a region that plays a crucial role in international oil and gas supplies.
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