Ottawa reserves commercial flight seats for Canadians in ‘volatile’ Iran war
Global News
Canada has arranged a chartered flight departing from the UAE, which has the highest number of Canadians registered in the region, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said.
The Canadian government has reserved hundreds of seats for Canadians on commercial flights leaving the Gulf region as the Iran war escalates and arranged one chartered flight, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Friday.
If Canadians don’t take those seats, the government will offer them to Europeans and others who will, the minister added, noting that Canada has “no intention” of participating in U.S.-led military operations.
“If any seats are unused by Canadians, we will offer them to Europeans and like-minded missions for their staff or citizens,” she said, adding that since the beginning of the war in Iran last week, Canada’s mission in Beirut had secured 325 seats for Canadians wishing to depart 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 in departing. We are sending information directly to Canadians about the assistance being offered,” Anand said.
Canada has arranged a chartered flight departing from the United Arab Emirates, which has the highest number of Canadians registered in the region, Anand said.
“Our government has secured a charter flight from Dubai to Istanbul that accommodates 180 Canadians. This flight is scheduled to depart tomorrow, March 7. This charter flight is being arranged on a cost recovery basis,” she added.
In addition to chartering a flight, Ottawa has also managed to block seats on commercial airlines leaving other countries in the region.
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