The first two repatriation flights operated by Latvia’s national airline, airBaltic, from Dubai landed in Riga overnight, according to flight monitoring data from Flightradar24.
The first airBaltic flight, BT7701, originally scheduled to depart Dubai at 5:50 p.m. Local time (1:50 p.m. Latvian time) on Friday, was delayed by over an hour and ultimately departed at 4:52 p.m. Latvian time. It arrived in Riga on March 7 at 2:35 a.m. Local time.
The second repatriation flight, BT7703, left Dubai at 5:12 p.m. Latvian time (7:12 p.m. Dubai time) on Friday and landed in Riga at 2:52 a.m. Local time.
Both flights included a technical stop in Heraklion, Greece, for crew changes. Each flight covered approximately 6,400 kilometers and took around nine hours and 40 minutes, including both legs of the journey.
airBaltic’s Head of Public and Political Relations, Augusts Zilberts, informed LETA that both flights were fully booked, bringing a total of 280 passengers to Latvia. Passenger numbers for the third repatriation flight are still being finalized.
A third repatriation flight, BT7756, is scheduled to depart from Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport at 7:20 p.m. Local time on Saturday. This flight will as well include a technical stop in Heraklion, Greece, and is expected to arrive in Riga around 3:40 a.m. Local time on Sunday.
The Latvian government approved 752,000 euros on Thursday for the repatriation and evacuation of Latvian citizens from the United Arab Emirates, following an emergency session.
As of March 4, 624 Latvian nationals had registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Consular Register requesting assistance with leaving the UAE.
The repatriation efforts approach amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, following attacks launched by the U.S. And Israel against Iran on February 28, which were met with retaliatory missile and drone strikes against countries hosting U.S. Military facilities.
On Friday, Israel reportedly bombarded Iranian targets in Tehran and positions belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist group in Beirut, while U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. Would soon significantly increase strikes against Iran.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that, should Iran capitulate, the U.S. And its allies would work to make Iran “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.” Though, this would depend on a new Iranian leadership acceptable to the U.S., and Trump also expressed a desire to “make Iran great again.”
