The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) announced that an evacuation flight organised by Romania through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism is on its way on Friday.

The aircraft took off from Muscat, in the Sultanate of Oman, bound for Bucharest, having on board 127 Romanian citizens affected by the security crisis in the Middle East. They are citizens registered with Romania's consulates in Dubai and Oman and belonging to the priority categories for evacuation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed.

The 127 Romanian citizens were contacted by consular teams in order to be included on the flight list. Of these, 95 are minors. The groups of school pupils registered by the authorities, from Neamt, Suceava and Vrancea counties, were taken on this evacuation flight.

There are also 39 citizens from other European countries on board the aircraft.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the number of seats allocated to Romanian citizens on this flight was fully occupied.

Under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, 30% of the aircraft's total capacity was allocated to EU citizens from states other than Romania.

At the same time, on 5 March, as part of an assisted repatriation operation, a group of 16 Romanian citizens from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan arrived in Romania on a flight organised by the authorities of the Czech Republic under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

According to the records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 1,000 Romanian citizens have so far returned through assisted repatriation flights, evacuation flights under the European Civil Protection Mechanism and commercial flights.

The crisis cell and the ministry's consular teams in the region continue efforts for repatriations and evacuations and are focusing on priority categories: children, people with medical emergencies, pregnant women and families with young children.

At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs crisis cell, through Romania's diplomatic missions and consular offices in the region, maintains contact with Romanian citizens affected by the conflict in the Middle East as well as with the authorities of the states in the region and will continue to provide consular assistance and protection, prioritising the safety of Romanian citizens depending on the development of the security situation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates its recommendations addressed to Romanian citizens in this context on the ministry's website, as well as the importance of registering on the https://www.econsulat.ro/ platform.

It also recommends systematically checking the information provided by airlines, both on official websites and via SMS or email, depending on the options selected in relation to the air operator. Citizens are also advised to check whether they have received rescheduled tickets for affected flights, to constantly follow the instructions communicated by airlines and to go to the airport only when notified and called by airline representatives. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Catalina Matei; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)