Around 5,000 Swiss nationals still stranded by war in Middle East

Nearly 5,000 Swiss nationals are scrambling for ways out of the Middle East as the war keeps much of the region's airspace closed and flights grounded. Keystone-SDA

Some 4,800 Swiss nationals remain stranded in the Middle East on the fourth day of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran. Those registered with the Swiss foreign ministry still hope to take one of the few commercial flights available.

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“A few dozen Swiss nationals have been able to leave the region at the start of this week on commercial flights, but patience is required and we must expect airspace to remain closed for some time yet. We are working intensively with Swiss to find solutions,” Marianne Jenni, director of consular affairs at the foreign ministry, told reporters in Bern on Tuesday.

Switzerland is also working within an international group to assist stranded travellers. The ministry has made available a special online “Travel Admin” platform where they can register for a flight, as well as a hotline. It is urging them to prioritise following local authorities’ instructions. Affected tourists can also contact Swiss diplomatic representations on the ground.

The foreign ministry is urgently asking those concerned to keep their data up to date on Travel Admin, so as to better assess the situation.

Mainly in UAE

The few dozen fortunate individuals who have been able to take a flight in recent hours departed from Abu Dhabi. The other candidates are mostly waiting in hotels. Departures, where possible, are on commercial flights.

“But it’s very complex. It requires several authorisations and obtaining time slots,” said Jenni explained. “We understand that this is very frustrating for those concerned.”

Nationals of all countries are in the same boat. To date, even states with their own air transport capacity can currently only operate in a very limited way, according to the foreign ministry. Only the occasional rare commercial flight can be considered at present.

In the current security context, time slots are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. Switzerland does not have its own transport aircraft that could be used for organised departures.

Switzerland has registered 350 people living in Qatar (and ten tourists registered on the app), around 100 in Bahrain (12 tourists on the app), 5,200 in the United Arab Emirates (3,000), 1,000 in Lebanon (60), 540 in Saudi Arabia (25), 25,300 in Israel (150) and 180 people registered on the app from Iran.

An Etihad aircraft lands at Zurich-Kloten

On Tuesday evening, Zurich Airport’s website indicated that an Etihad Airways aircraft from Abu Dhabi had landed in Zurich shortly before 7pm. Journalists interviewed passengers who said they had taken this flight to travel to Switzerland.

On the German-language SRF television programme 10vor10, one passenger recounted that on arrival, he had tears in his eyes, relieved to be back. His friend kissed the ground. In a video published by Blick, Swiss comedian Stefan Büsser said he was “extremely grateful” to be back.

He had booked four other flights to increase his chances of getting to Switzerland. According to Blick, he too was on board the Etihad aircraft.

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Adapted from French by AI/sb

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