With commercial carriers suspending most services to Bahrain, Israel, Jordan and the Gulf, the Czech National Security Council on 5 March authorised an emergency air-bridge using two Airbus A319s and a CASA C-295M to extract nationals caught in the rapidly escalating regional conflict. According to the maritime-logistics news portal that first broke the story, three government-chartered rotations from Muscat, Sharm el-Sheikh and Amman have already repatriated 175 Czech travellers, while a fourth flight is scheduled to depart Oman late on Friday.
The Foreign Ministry estimates that around 6,500 Czech citizens were in the wider Middle-East for winter holidays, business trips or short-term assignments when hostilities flared after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian missile sites. The ministry has activated the DROZD traveller-tracking system and urged all Czechs still in the region to enrol so that consular staff can reach them quickly. In parallel, Prague is working through the EU Civil-Protection Mechanism to secure seats on other member-state evacuation flights.
For travelers needing to update or replace travel documents amid the turmoil, the online consular-support platform VisaHQ offers a quick way to check visa requirements, arrange emergency passports and secure entry permits to safer transit hubs. Its Czech-language portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) lists up-to-date guidance for more than 200 destinations and provides courier pickup for clients unable to reach an embassy in person—an option that can dovetail with the government’s evacuation flights.
![Czech Republic launches military air-bridge to evacuate citizens from Middle-East hotspots]()
Corporate-security managers say the swift deployment underscores lessons learned from earlier Czech evacuations in Sudan (2023) and Lebanon (2025): have aircraft on standby, pre-clear landing slots and over-flight permits, and coordinate closely with tour operators who hold passenger manifests. For employers, Czech labour law classifies evacuation costs as an extraordinary occupational expense that can be deducted from taxable income, provided documentation is retained.
Ticketing platforms Kiwi.com and Letuška.cz report that economy-class fares on the few remaining commercial routes out of the Gulf towards Prague or Vienna have surged by up to 720 percent since 1 March, with insurance provider ERV Evropská refusing to issue new policies that cover war-related risks in nine Middle-East countries. Mobility managers therefore recommend booking staff on government flights where possible, ensuring they carry hard copies of passports and proof of onward travel required by Egyptian and Jordanian border police.
While the Defence Ministry expects the air-bridge to wind down within a week, officials caution that further sorties could be dispatched if the conflict escalates or if airspace closures spread to neighbouring regions. Companies with regularly rotating personnel in the Middle East are advised to review contingency plans and verify that their travel-risk policies meet the heightened security environment.
The Foreign Ministry estimates that around 6,500 Czech citizens were in the wider Middle-East for winter holidays, business trips or short-term assignments when hostilities flared after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian missile sites. The ministry has activated the DROZD traveller-tracking system and urged all Czechs still in the region to enrol so that consular staff can reach them quickly. In parallel, Prague is working through the EU Civil-Protection Mechanism to secure seats on other member-state evacuation flights.
For travelers needing to update or replace travel documents amid the turmoil, the online consular-support platform VisaHQ offers a quick way to check visa requirements, arrange emergency passports and secure entry permits to safer transit hubs. Its Czech-language portal (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) lists up-to-date guidance for more than 200 destinations and provides courier pickup for clients unable to reach an embassy in person—an option that can dovetail with the government’s evacuation flights.
Corporate-security managers say the swift deployment underscores lessons learned from earlier Czech evacuations in Sudan (2023) and Lebanon (2025): have aircraft on standby, pre-clear landing slots and over-flight permits, and coordinate closely with tour operators who hold passenger manifests. For employers, Czech labour law classifies evacuation costs as an extraordinary occupational expense that can be deducted from taxable income, provided documentation is retained.
Ticketing platforms Kiwi.com and Letuška.cz report that economy-class fares on the few remaining commercial routes out of the Gulf towards Prague or Vienna have surged by up to 720 percent since 1 March, with insurance provider ERV Evropská refusing to issue new policies that cover war-related risks in nine Middle-East countries. Mobility managers therefore recommend booking staff on government flights where possible, ensuring they carry hard copies of passports and proof of onward travel required by Egyptian and Jordanian border police.
While the Defence Ministry expects the air-bridge to wind down within a week, officials caution that further sorties could be dispatched if the conflict escalates or if airspace closures spread to neighbouring regions. Companies with regularly rotating personnel in the Middle East are advised to review contingency plans and verify that their travel-risk policies meet the heightened security environment.
