First Stranded Armenians Return from UAE and Gulf States — Paying$1,200 Per Ticket to Get Home

The first group of Armenian citizens stranded in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states has safely returned to Yerevan. The group arrived early Tuesday on a special flight from Oman after days of travel disruption caused by the escalating conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel.

Air travel across the Middle East has been heavily affected since Saturday, when U.S. and Israeli air strikes against Iran led to Iranian retaliation. As a result, thousands of regular flights to and from the region were cancelled. In the United Arab Emirates alone, around 20,000 passengers were left stranded. Among them were hundreds of Armenian nationals who had traveled to the UAE for tourism or were using the country as a transit point for flights to or from other destinations. A smaller number of Armenians were also reported stranded in Qatar and Kuwait.

With airport operations in the UAE still suspended, the Armenian Embassy in Abu Dhabi worked to help its citizens return home. Because direct flights from the UAE were not operating, the embassy helped organize special flights from Muscat, the capital of neighboring Oman, to Yerevan. The flights are being operated by the Armenian airline Fly One.

The first group of 15 evacuees departed from Muscat and landed in Armenia on Tuesday. Each passenger paid more than $1,200 for their ticket. The Armenian Embassy provided free bus transportation from Abu Dhabi to Muscat but did not cover airfare costs. According to officials, another Muscat–Yerevan flight is scheduled for Wednesday to bring more stranded Armenians home.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan spoke by phone with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi later on Tuesday. According to an Armenian summary of the conversation, Mirzoyan thanked Oman for “facilitating necessary procedures for the return of Armenian citizens.”

While some Armenians have managed to return, many remain in Gulf countries as uncertainty continues. The UAE government announced on Sunday that it would cover the cost of hotel stays for foreign tourists for the time being. This decision has provided temporary relief for many stranded travelers.

Among them is Isabella Sargsian, an Armenian woman staying in Abu Dhabi with her three young children.

“We will keep staying in the same hotel room at the Abu Dhabi government’s expense,” Sargsian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service from the Emirati capital.

She described the tense atmosphere during the nights.

“The situation is volatile,” she said. “There were no alerts yesterday. But last night, from 2:40 to around 4 a.m., we heard powerful bangs. There were no explosions [on the ground] as their air defense struck [targets] in the air.”

Another Armenian citizen, Richard Zakarian, is currently on a cruise ship docked at a local port in the UAE. Passengers have been warned about security risks if they leave the vessel.

“We have been told that if we go ashore we will bear full responsibility for our security,” he said.

In Kuwait, Sevan Shirvanian and more than a dozen other Armenian tourists are also unable to return home. They were traveling back from Sri Lanka when the flight cancellations began. They are now staying in a local hotel and waiting for travel options to resume.

“Air raid sirens go off regularly, and we can also hear air defense gunfire,” said Shirvanian.

Armenian authorities continue to follow developments in the region and are working with foreign governments to assist citizens abroad. As long as commercial flights remain suspended, special arrangements like the Muscat–Yerevan flights may remain the main way for stranded Armenians to return home. The situation remains uncertain, and further evacuation efforts will likely depend on security conditions and the reopening of airspace in the region.

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