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All you need to know as first UK charter plane arrives from Middle East
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British citizens arrived at Stansted Airport overnight after being evacuated from the Middle East as Iran continues to fire missiles and drones across the Middle East
Everything you need to know as Brits arrive home from the Middle East amid Iran missile barrage
- British citizens evacuated from the Middle East on the UK’s first chartered rescue flight have slammed the operation as a “shambles” after delays and chaos.
- The flight from Muscat, Oman, arrived at Stansted Airport overnight carrying vulnerable passengers fleeing the escalating conflict. Iran has been firing missiles and drones across the region after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in strikes by US and Israeli jets on Tehran.
- One terrified passenger told Good Morning Britain: “We were right under the missiles and stuff… I grabbed my children and decided to come back. We heard the windows shudder, it was quite a scary time.”
- Another evacuee described the frustrating delays, saying: “It was a bit of a shambles on the night when we thought we were going to get a flight and we ended up being trapped on busses.”
- The flight was only half to three-quarters full due to administrative problems with passenger data not matching local records in Muscat. The original departure was delayed by 24 hours amid ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the massive evacuation effort, calling it “one of the biggest operations of its kind, many times bigger than the evacuation from Afghanistan.” The government faces pressure with over 100,000 Brits registered for evacuation from the region.
READ THE FULL STORY: Brits on first UK charter plane from Middle East say ‘shambles’ flight ‘not full’
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