More than 10,000 Chinese travellers have safely and orderly returned from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and other countries, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory moves forced airspace closures and grounded commercial flights.

Guo Jiakun told a regular news briefing that in recent days the ministry, in co-ordination with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, had arranged for domestic airlines to significantly increase capacity and urgently dispatch flights to the Middle East to pick up Chinese passengers stranded there.

More ‌than 3,000 were evacuated from Iran, the Foreign ⁠Ministry said last week.

Major Chinese airlines, including Air China and China Southern ⁠Airlines, resumed ‌flights this month between some ‌Chinese cities and Gulf hubs such as Riyadh and Dubai.

China has ‌condemned the US and Israeli strikes, repeatedly called for a ceasefire and sent an envoy to the Middle East ⁠for mediation. (Xinhua & Reuters)


Edited by Thomas McAlinden