Amid the escalating war that recently broke out in the Middle East, hundreds of Finnish citizens who are stranded in Dubai are demanding that Finland assist them in evacuating the region.
In a statement, the group of Finns compared the actions of their country to repatriation efforts made by other nations, saying that Finnish authorities have fallen short, and characterised Finnair's customer service as useless.
According to the group's statement, nearly 350 Finnish citizens in Dubai belonging to a WhatsApp messaging group are demanding to be evacuated from the region. The group includes vacationers, business travellers and Finns who live in Dubai.
On Wednesday, Finland's foreign affairs ministry announced that the country was arranging a charter flight for Finns in the UAE, from the capital of neighbouring Oman to Helsinki this coming weekend.
However, the cost of securing a seat on that flight amounts to around 2,300 euros. In other words, the price of evacuating a family of four on the flight would reach nearly 10,000 euros.
The ministry has previously said that the high ticket price was mainly due to increased insurance and fuel costs.
Flight to depart on Sunday
On Thursday afternoon, the foreign ministry announced that the flight out of Muscat, Oman to Helsinki is scheduled to depart on Sunday.
In a press release, the ministry said that tickets for the evacuation flight would be available on Thursday or Friday. It said families with children and people in particularly vulnerable situations would be given priority.
The ministry also noted that bus transport from the UAE to Oman was being arranged for the evacuees.
It noted that both the bus and plane tickets were at the passengers' expense. The flight ticket will cost around 2,300 euros while the bus ride is set at approximately 100 euros, according to the ministry.
The ministry said that it would continue to assess the need for evacuation flights.
Uni entrance exams loom
The group of Finns in Dubai claims that other countries were evacuating citizens for significantly less.
For example, they claimed that Pakistan was offering to repatriate its citizens free-of-charge. They claimed Ireland was offering its adult citizens charter flight seats for 800 euros apiece, while Irish children could fly out for free. They also suggested that Estonians were being flown home for 400 euros per person.
However, Yle has not been able to confirm those claims.
The group of Finns stranded in Dubai expressed shock that Finland has not applied for financial aid for evacuation flights via the EU's Civil Protection mechanism. Additionally, they are upset that the Finnish ministry has not been willing to make efforts to raise the country's security level, claiming such a move would ease sharing the burden of the flight's cost with insurance companies.
The group said that some of the Finns stuck in the region are high school students with only a few days left until they should be in Finland sitting their university entrance exams. Others in the group, they said, have health issues.
"We are disappointed with the communication from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the fact that no concrete solutions have been offered to organize their return home," the group's statement said.
On Tuesday, Finnair announced that it was suspending flights to Doha and Dubai until March 29.
Thursday marked the sixth day since the US and Israel began military strikes on Iran. The deadly conflict has quickly spread across other countries in the Middle East.
According to Reuters, more than 1,000 people in Iran, including 175 schoolgirls, have been confirmed killed as a result of the war.
There were also 10 killed in Israel, 77 people in Lebanon, and a number of other casualties in other countries in the region, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Edited at 14:42 on 5 March 2026 to add the ministry's announcement that this weekend's flight out of Oman is scheduled to depart on Sunday, and related details.
