Poland’s crisis-management machinery moved into top gear on 6 March after the eruption of a full-scale conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran paralysed commercial aviation across the Gulf. Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters that eight government-chartered evacuation flights—six from the United Arab Emirates and two from Oman—would depart on Friday alone, bringing home around 1,500 people. Since 1 March, more than 2,800 nationals have already been flown out of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and the Gulf.
The government has diverted the entire VIP fleet of Boeing 737 and Gulfstream jets to the operation and authorised the air force to send additional C-130 and C-295 transports if civilian slots dry up. Military hospitals have been placed on alert and a medical-priority flight is standing by in Riyadh to collect vulnerable passengers stuck in Qatar, where incoming drone and missile attacks have closed most runways. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism will co-finance the airlifts provided seat blocks are made available to citizens of other member states.
For corporate mobility managers the episode is a blunt reminder that Polish authorities expect employers to maintain real-time head-counts of staff on assignment in high-risk regions. Companies unable to confirm the whereabouts of travelling employees may be publicly criticised, officials warned. Travel insurers have already started to exclude cover for trips to Qatar and Bahrain, and Polish agencies have suspended the sale of package holidays to Oman.
![Poland airlifts over 2,800 citizens from the Middle East as regional war grounds commercial flights]()
In this fluid environment, travellers and HR departments trying to piece together alternative routings may find it helpful to consult VisaHQ, which offers rapid visa processing, passport renewal support and up-to-date entry guidance for Polish citizens. A full menu of services and real-time advisories can be accessed at https://www.visahq.com/poland/ ensuring that emergency departures or rerouted itineraries are not stalled by missing paperwork.
The foreign ministry has activated a 24-hour hotline that received more than 3,000 calls on the first day. Officials say the biggest bottleneck is in Dubai, where some 40,000 European tourists are queueing for outbound seats each day; Polish consuls are escorting coaches across the Hatta land border into Oman, from which LOT Polish Airlines and military aircraft are shuttling passengers to Warsaw.
Although the government expects the backlog to clear within a week if Gulf airspace re-opens, it has warned travellers that further retaliatory strikes could extend the crisis. Employers have been urged to defer all non-essential deployments to the region and to review evacuation clauses in mobility policies.
The government has diverted the entire VIP fleet of Boeing 737 and Gulfstream jets to the operation and authorised the air force to send additional C-130 and C-295 transports if civilian slots dry up. Military hospitals have been placed on alert and a medical-priority flight is standing by in Riyadh to collect vulnerable passengers stuck in Qatar, where incoming drone and missile attacks have closed most runways. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism will co-finance the airlifts provided seat blocks are made available to citizens of other member states.
For corporate mobility managers the episode is a blunt reminder that Polish authorities expect employers to maintain real-time head-counts of staff on assignment in high-risk regions. Companies unable to confirm the whereabouts of travelling employees may be publicly criticised, officials warned. Travel insurers have already started to exclude cover for trips to Qatar and Bahrain, and Polish agencies have suspended the sale of package holidays to Oman.
In this fluid environment, travellers and HR departments trying to piece together alternative routings may find it helpful to consult VisaHQ, which offers rapid visa processing, passport renewal support and up-to-date entry guidance for Polish citizens. A full menu of services and real-time advisories can be accessed at https://www.visahq.com/poland/ ensuring that emergency departures or rerouted itineraries are not stalled by missing paperwork.
The foreign ministry has activated a 24-hour hotline that received more than 3,000 calls on the first day. Officials say the biggest bottleneck is in Dubai, where some 40,000 European tourists are queueing for outbound seats each day; Polish consuls are escorting coaches across the Hatta land border into Oman, from which LOT Polish Airlines and military aircraft are shuttling passengers to Warsaw.
Although the government expects the backlog to clear within a week if Gulf airspace re-opens, it has warned travellers that further retaliatory strikes could extend the crisis. Employers have been urged to defer all non-essential deployments to the region and to review evacuation clauses in mobility policies.
