Maltese stranded in Qatar repatriated to Berlin
Malta provided consular assistance
Twenty-six Maltese who were stranded in Qatar as a result of the Iran war have been repatriated to Berlin, from where they can more easily travel to Malta, Foreign Minister Ian Borg said on Sunday.
The Qatar Airways flight departed early on Sunday and was due to land in Berlin at 10.20am.
The Maltese were given consular assistance by officials of Malta's foreign ministry. The Qatari tourism authorities provided free accommodation.
A further 187 Maltese were flown to Malta from the United Arab Emirates on Saturday on a flight chartered by the Maltese government. The flight managed to slip out of Dubai just before the airport was closed again because of an attack by drones.
Thousands of travellers were stranded in the Gulf states after the United States and Israel launched aerial bombing of Iran on Saturday week, and Iran retaliated by bombing several Gulf states with drones and missiles.
Germany said on Monday it was sending chartered planes to Saudi Arabia and Oman in an effort to evacuate tourists.
Some 30,000 Germans have been affected by the travel chaos, according to the German Travel Association.
Around 5,000 passengers were stuck on two TUI cruise ships in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, according to German media. Evacuation flights from Muscat, Oman were made on Friday.
Iran struck Gulf infrastructure on Sunday, hitting fuel tanks at Kuwait's international airport and damaging a desalination plant in Bahrain.