According to data from the Situation Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as of 9:30 on March 9, 2026, within the framework of the operation, assistance was provided and continues to be provided to over 2,600 Bulgarian citizens who left the countries of the Middle East region and Iran.
For the United Arab Emirates:
With flights organized by the Crisis Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism - 1,258;
With tour operators – 876.
For all flights organized by the government or private companies, assistance was provided by the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Dubai on site.
A total of 6 flights organized by the government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Tourism with the assistance of the Ministry of Transport) were carried out to the UAE.
Flight of the “State Aviation Operator“ from Abu Dhabi with 85 people on board on 05.03.2026 (organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Special flight of the airline “Gulliver“ from Dubai with 326 people on board on 05.03.2026 (organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Special flight of Bulgaria Air from Dubai with 180 people on board on 05.03.2026 (organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Special flight of the airline “Gulliver“ from Dubai with 326 people on board on 07.03.2026 (organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Special flight from Dubai with 220 people on 07.03.2026 (with the assistance of the Ministry of Tourism)
Special flight with 121 people on 08.03.2026 (with the assistance of the Ministry of Tourism)
Private companies carried out a total of five flights from the UAE to Bulgaria at their own expense: on “Bohemia“ for 174 people; on Bulgaria Air for 180 people; three Fly Dubai flights with 174 people on board.
According to information from the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in Dubai, the airports there are currently open and at least three major foreign air carriers are operating.
For Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia:
Active preparations are underway to evacuate Bulgarian citizens via land routes from Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, in three beams to Saudi Arabia. A special flight, with a capacity of 180 seats, is planned for March 10 from Riyadh to Sofia.
So far, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has organized the evacuation of a total of 49 Bulgarian citizens from Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia:
Today (March 9) early in the morning, 15 Bulgarian citizens arrived in Athens on a partner country flight from Doha;
21 people (14 from Bahrain; 6 from Saudi Arabia and 1 from Qatar) were evacuated on an Austrian flight from Riyadh to Vienna under the EU cooperation mechanism;
13 people were evacuated on a flight from Riyadh to Budapest, organized by Hungary.
For Israel:
With the assistance of the Embassy in Tel Aviv, 18 short-term Bulgarian citizens have been evacuated from Israel by land so far routes.
As of March 8, 2026, a phased opening of the airspace for outbound commercial flights has begun, under certain conditions. For now, flights to various destinations from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv will be operated only by Israeli airlines (El Al, Israir, Arkia, etc.). The Israeli authorities are introducing a limit of a maximum of 100 passengers per flight.
For Lebanon:
We are carefully analyzing the development of the situation in Lebanon, and we are ready to take the appropriate measures. So far, 35 Bulgarian citizens have contacted the Embassy in Beirut, and they have been provided with information and recommendations regarding the options for leaving Lebanon, including the still available civil flights.
For Iran:
The staff of the Embassy of Bulgaria in Tehran (total: 10 people - 6 employees/4 family members) was evacuated by land route to Baku. 8 of the evacuees have already returned to Bulgaria.
The Embassy in Baghdad provided crisis assistance to a Bulgarian citizen who was evacuated from Iran by land route.
For Oman:
On March 5, 111 Bulgarian citizens returned from Oman on a Bulgaria Air flight from the city of Salalah (1,000 km from the capital Muscat) to Sofia. Another 7 people left Oman with the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on individual routes.
For Jordan:
A total of 130 Bulgarian tourists from tour operator agencies received assistance from the Embassy of Bulgaria.
For Iraq:
A total of 20 Bulgarians were evacuated by land across the border with Turkey or Jordan (there are currently no Bulgarian citizens to be evacuated from Iraq).