Middle-East crisis: Czech government mounts new repatriation wave as 4,300 nationals remain abroad

As the Iran–Israel conflict continued to destabilise Gulf airspace, Czechia intensified its large-scale evacuation effort on 7 March 2026. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka told reporters that 4,300 Czech nationals were still registered in the Drozd traveller-monitoring system across ten Middle-Eastern countries, but “a clear majority do not currently wish to return.” Two overnight Smartwings flights—one chartered by the state, the other part of the carrier’s reinstated Dubai service—landed at Václav Havel Airport Prague with roughly 380 passengers. A third government-funded Airbus departed Prague in the afternoon for Riyadh to collect stranded tourists and business travellers; arrivals were expected before dawn on 8 March. Additional rotations to Sharm el-Sheikh and Muscat remain on standby, with the cabinet pledging that the state will cover 100 % of direct costs and later seek a 75 % reimbursement from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.



At the same time, many would-be returnees are discovering that rerouting through safer third countries can demand rapid transit or entry paperwork; online specialists such as VisaHQ simplify the process by securing Czech and foreign visas, arranging courier logistics and advising on the latest Gulf-region restrictions. Travellers can start an application or verify requirements at https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/

The foreign ministry confirmed that eleven repatriation flights have so far brought home more than 1,500 citizens, while thousands of others found seats on limited commercial services once Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad began phased resumptions. Airport operator Prague Airport reported that, between 1 and 7 March, 4,833 passengers arrived from the Gulf while 439 departed for the region—evidence of an outbound demand rebound despite continuing security warnings. Travel-management companies told Seznam Zprávy that corporate clients are revising risk policies: assignments to the UAE must now carry satellite-phone contingencies, and insurers are loading “war-risk” premiums of up to 40 % on group policies covering Dubai, Doha and Muscat. Czech tour operators Exim Tours and Fischer said they had evacuated nearly all of the 1,000 package tourists they had in the Gulf when hostilities flared; Blue Style expects its last 11 clients to leave the UAE on 8 March. Employers with staff still in the region should ensure that Drozd registrations are updated daily and confirm that employees understand EU 261 entitlements if commercial flights are cancelled. Labour-law specialists warn that refusal to evacuate from a high-risk zone could trigger duty-of-care disputes unless assignment letters explicitly delegate the final call to the employer’s security manager.