Australia has said that around 115,000 of its citizens are currently unable to leave the Middle East due to airspace closures caused by the conflict sparked by US–Israeli strikes on Iran.
The government expressed hope that commercial flights could resume to facilitate the evacuation of Australians in the region.
“We have about 115,000 Australians in the region. So that is a lot of people. The best way to get them home would be for commercial flights to return, because that is at scale,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters.
“There’s conflict in the region. We’ve seen loss of life across the region, and airspace is not open. So, whether it is an Australian flight or a commercial flight, the flights are not able to occur.”
When asked whether the government would repatriate citizens directly, Wong said officials were first seeking to see if commercial flights would resume and confirmed they were “engaging” with airlines on the matter.
An online crisis portal has been established for citizens, permanent residents, and their immediate families in Israel, Iran, Qatar, or the United Arab Emirates to register for assistance.
Wong also addressed the US–Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei
