Greece launches animal airlift to evacuate pets and their owners from the Middle East

Athens, Greece — It was an animal airlift. Dozens of dogs and cats arrived in Athens on Wednesday with their owners on a special evacuation flight for Greeks with pets trapped by the current war in the Middle East.

Emotional scenes unfolded at Athens airport as the tiny dogs frolicked with joy after being released from their special travel carry cases. The government-organized Aegean flight from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, was carrying 45 pets and 101 people.

“Our pets are not belongings, they are part of our families,” said Nikos Chrysakis, Special Secretary for the Protection of Companion Animals at the Greek Ministry of the Interior. The Interior and Foreign Ministries worked together for days “so we can have this good outcome, animals and people can return home safely,” he said.

Israeli and US attacks on Iran have wreaked havoc on air travel across the Middle East. The missiles have forced countries to repeatedly close their airspace and cancel thousands of flights in major aviation hubs such as Dubai and Qatar. Millions of passengers are stranded.

For Danai Koukaulomati, finding a flight to take her cat to Muay Thai is non-negotiable.

“To me, my pet, my cat is my family. There’s no way I’m leaving him behind,” she said. But she couldn’t find any aircraft that accepted animals in the cabin or in the cargo hold. “Flying out of the country with your pet is very difficult.”

When dealing with combat, Muay Thai was more stoic than she was. When the explosions go off, “he hides in the bathroom and that’s it. He’s a calm cat,” Koukoulomathy said. “I wasn’t as calm as my cat. I need to take some lessons from him.”

Alexandra Papayanis, who has lived in Dubai for five years, arrived with her dog Sirtaki – named after a Greek dance – and the second dog she brought for a friend. She said she struggled to find an evacuation plane that would take the animals.

“It’s very important. I mean, our pets are part of our family,” she said. “And in these difficult circumstances, the challenges we face are how to bring our dogs and our cats back.” Returning to Greece with Sirtaki is “absolutely fantastic,” he said.

Another traveler, Maria Theochari, could not imagine leaving Dubai without her dog Matisse. “Like my children, I have a Matisse,” she said. “It’s important to me. I don’t single out my animal or my children, it’s all the same to me.”