ALMATY – Kazakhstan has launched evacuation operations to return its citizens from areas affected by escalating tensions in the Middle East, organizing special flights and coordinating ground routes to ensure their safe return.
Photo credit: Kazinform
On March 4, several flights carrying Kazakh citizens from Middle Eastern countries arrived in Kazakhstan. Air Astana operated flights from Medina and Jeddah, with one flight arriving in Aktau carrying 142 passengers, while three other flights arrived in Atyrau carrying 145, 174, and 179 passengers respectively, reported the Civil Aviation Committee.
In total, 946 citizens of Kazakhstan have already returned home, and evacuation operations are ongoing.
Two additional repatriation flights are scheduled for March 4 in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The flights will operate on the Jeddah–Aktau–Almaty and Jeddah–Atyrau–Almaty routes, reported the Air Astana’s press service.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, evacuation flights are also planned along the Almaty–Muscat–Almaty route. On Tuesday morning, the first group of 278 Kazakh citizens traveled by land to Muscat, accompanied by staff from Kazakhstan’s Consulate General in Dubai.
A second group of 189 citizens is scheduled to depart along the same route later, bringing the total number of people expected to return through these evacuation flights to 467.
In addition to air evacuations, Kazakh diplomats have also facilitated ground evacuations. Diplomatic missions in Tehran, Ashgabat and Gorgan assisted 15 citizens in safely crossing the Incheh Borun checkpoint on the Iran–Turkmenistan border. From there, they were helped to continue their journey to Aktau. Diplomats in Tehran and Yerevan also coordinated the evacuation of 35 employees of the Zarkuh company, who left Iran by bus and crossed the Iranian–Armenian border.
Kazakhstan’s diplomatic missions in the region continue to coordinate evacuation efforts on the ground and remain in constant contact with citizens until all those wishing to return are safely evacuated.
