Spain airlifts first group of citizens from Abu Dhabi as government activates region-wide evacuation plan

Spain’s long-prepared contingency plans for crises in the Gulf were rolled out in earnest on 3 March after commercial airspace across much of the Middle East closed following US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told reporters after the weekly Council of Ministers that “all available air and land assets” had been activated to extract the 30,000-plus Spaniards who live, work or travel in the region. The first 175 evacuees landed in Madrid on an Etihad Airways charter from Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening, greeted by anxious relatives at Barajas Airport.

Consular staff in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman have set up temporary crisis desks and are urging nationals to register their location via the Foreign Ministry’s traveller database. Priority is being given to short-term visitors, business travellers and expatriate families with limited local support networks. Officials confirmed that Spanish embassies are working with EU partners to secure over-flight clearances for additional rotations via Istanbul and Muscat should Gulf airspace remain restricted.

The evacuation is Spain’s largest since the Libya operation in 2011 and will test the country’s upgraded Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) doctrine, which was revised after a post-Afghanistan review. A mix of commercial charters and military A400M transports is on standby, but Albares stressed that routes would “remain confidential until every passenger is safely home”.



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For mobility managers the episode is a stark reminder of the importance of real-time tracking, local registrations and flexible ticketing policies. Dozens of Spanish multinationals—including construction majors ACCIONA and FCC—have activated their own relocation protocols, moving project staff to Cyprus and southern Turkey. Travel-risk consultancies expect insurance premiums for assignments in the Gulf to spike in the coming weeks.

While Madrid insists there are no Spanish casualties, corporate security advisers warn that the fluid military situation could yet force land convoys through Jordan or even northern Iraq. Companies with personnel in Iran face particular challenges: only 158 Spaniards are registered there, but consular access is limited and alternative exit corridors are scarce. The Foreign Ministry says further flights are planned “as conditions permit”, but urges citizens still in the region to prepare for shelter-in-place orders if the security picture deteriorates.