Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Friday that the Canadian government has reserved hundreds of seats for Canadians and arranged a chartered flight on commercial flights departing from the Gulf region as the Iran war escalates.
If Canadians don’t take those positions, the government will offer them to Europeans and others, the minister said, adding that Canada has “no intention” of participating in US-led military operations.
“If any seats are not used by Canadians, we will offer them to Europeans and their personnel or civilians on like-minded missions,” he said, adding that since the war in Iran began last week, Canada’s mission in Beirut has secured 325 seats for Canadians who want to leave the region.
“As of this morning, more than 108,000 Canadians in the region have registered with Global Affairs. Of these, approximately 3,500 Canadians have contacted Global Affairs to request assistance with departure. We are sending information directly to Canadians about assistance,” said Anand.
Canada arranged a chartered flight from the United Arab Emirates, which registered the largest number of Canadians in the region, Anand said.
“Our government has secured a charter flight from Dubai to Istanbul that will accommodate 180 Canadians. The flight will depart tomorrow, March 7. This charter flight is being arranged on a cost recovery basis,” he said.
In addition to chartering aircraft, Ottawa has succeeded in blocking seats on commercial airlines departing from other countries in the region.
The first of these are two Air Arabia flights, departing from Dubai to Istanbul, which will depart over the weekend.
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“Through these arrangements, we expect to accommodate 45 to 50 Canadians on each flight,” he said.
Canada has arranged 51 seats on the Dubai-Toronto Emirates flight scheduled to depart on Saturday, however, the block booking is now sold out, he said.
A Middle East Airlines flight departing Lebanon on Thursday registered the second-highest number of Canadians in the region, with 50 seats reserved for Canadians.
Anand said Ottawa has reserved 200 seats on four more flights for Canadians on this Beirut-Istanbul route.
‘Land transport poses a risk’
Some Canadians are making their own travel arrangements and opting for ground transportation, Anand said.
“I want to reiterate that any ground transportation carries risk,” he said.
However, Canada has secured some seats on buses leaving Qatar for Saudi Arabia, he said.
“We have confirmed four buses from Qatar to Saudi Arabia starting on Saturday. We have 180 seats. We are cooperating closely with Australia,” he said.
Asked if Canada was considering using the Canadian Armed Forces to help evacuate its citizens in the region, Anand said, “We’re looking at all options, period.”
Evacuation options are currently being sent to Canadians registered with Global Affairs Canada as Anand urges more Canadians to register.
“The termination situation across the region remains volatile and unpredictable and that’s why we have a team working at GAC 24 hours a day to provide updates to registrants, and we strongly, in that vein, encourage Canadians abroad to register,” Anand said.
He said Canadians can contact the government’s 24/7 emergency monitoring and response center at 613-996-8885 or me-mo.sos@international.gc.ca.
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(tags to translate)Iran(T)Anita Anand(T)Iran War(T)Canada(T)World
