Two hundred three Korean tourists who had been stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the war fallout among the United States, Israel and Iran returned home on the 9th on the first government-arranged charter flight.
The charter plane operated by Etihad Airways left Abu Dhabi International Airport at about 5:35 p.m. the previous day, flew for about eight hours, and landed at Incheon International Airport at about 1:20 a.m. that day. A total of 206 people boarded the charter plane, including 203 Koreans and three foreign spouses with British, French and Canadian nationalities.
Originally, 285 people were scheduled to board the charter flight. Of them, 38 expressed their intention to cancel. The remaining 53 did not come to the airport without notice, and a final total of 206 people boarded, including 12 who arrived at the airport without prior application.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as air routes to the UAE reopened, more than 1,500 Koreans who had been stranded locally, including those on this charter flight, have departed the UAE. In accordance with relevant laws and guidelines, passengers on this charter flight are to pay the boarding expense (about 1.4 million won) to a designated account to be announced later by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the 30th of next month, as previously notified.