First UK evacuation flight from Middle East lands at Stansted after 24-hour delay

Originally due to depart from Muscat, Oman’s capital, on Wednesday, the flight failed to take off due to a combination of technical and administrative issues.

The evacuation comes as thousands of Britons remain stranded across the region following US-Israeli military action against Iran, which triggered retaliatory strikes by Iran across the Middle East.

Foreign Office figures show around 141,000 British nationals in the Gulf have now registered their presence with authorities, including 112,000 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Passengers described the departure process as a "complete shambles" and a "total s***show," with families left waiting on buses near the aircraft for hours without any communication from crew members.

One traveller named Mark, who was flying with his young family, told the BBC that check-in alone took two hours before passengers were left stranded on a bus for another hour.

During the prolonged wait, one person is said to have suffered a panic attack.

When the aircraft doors eventually opened, passengers were told the crew had exceeded their working hours, meaning the plane could not legally complete its journey.

Reports suggested no consular staff were present to assist the stranded Britons as the conflict with Iran continued to intensify.

One father travelling with his wife and young child said the previous day had been "very terrible," with check-in taking nearly four hours before passengers were sent back to their hotels.

A couple who had travelled to Dubai for a long weekend said they were forced to shelter in the basement car park of their hotel.

Samuel Sharp said: "Saturday, we ended up sleeping in a car park in the basement of the hotel with about 100 other people, after the alarms went off on our phones."

He added they received no guidance on when it was safe to return to their rooms, and heard a loud explosion after going up for breakfast the following morning.

His partner Amelia Reid, who required a wheelchair, said they left Dubai at midday on Thursday, drove directly to the Oman border and then took a coach to Muscat airport in the hope of securing seats on the Government flight.

Another family made the 300-mile journey from Dubai to Oman by car earlier in the week, spending 36 hours at Muscat airport before finally boarding.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel launched a scathing attack on the Government’s handling of the crisis, branding Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper "weak and feeble."

She accused Ms Cooper of failing in her responsibility to defend Britain’s international standing and claimed the US, Cyprus, the UAE and Bahrain felt let down by the UK’s limited involvement.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary argued Cooper had not shown the leadership needed to safeguard military personnel, British bases and citizens abroad.

Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer acknowledged the situation represented "a consular challenge on a scale not seen since COVID-19" and stressed there were "no instant solutions".

Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed more than 4,000 people had already returned via commercial flights from the UAE, with further charter flights planned in the coming days.

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