Finland has arranged a flight for the evacuation of its citizens who want to escape the escalating conflict across the Middle East, but it will not be able to take all of the people who want a seat.
Around 600 Finnish citizens in the United Arab Emirates have notified Finland's foreign ministry that they want to evacuate.
On Thursday the ministry confirmed that the evacuation flight from the capital of Oman to Helsinki was scheduled to depart this coming Sunday.
Initially, the ministry said that ticket prices for a seat on the flight would amount to 2,300 euros — a fee that a group of Finns in the region characterised as excessive.
On Thursday night the ministry announced the likely relieving news that the ticket price was being reduced by around 1,000 euros, to 1,230 euros per passenger.
However, the ministry's consular services chief, Jussi Tanner, also announced that Sunday's flight would not be able to accommodate the roughly 600 Finns still in the UAE — as the aircraft being sent can only fit around 160 passengers.
So, the majority of the Finns wanting to leave the region will not be able to fly out on Sunday.
The ministry has said that families with children and people with health issues were being prioritised for the flight.
But Tanner noted that even Sunday's flight is not entirely confirmed.
"There are a number of uncertainties here. Flights from many countries have been cancelled," Tanner explained.
Work is underway to arrange an additional flight, but how that works out depends largely on the availability of aircraft able to carry out the evacuation.
Price drop
Tanner said the ministry was able to lower the evacuation ticket price by only charging passengers for the leg to Helsinki. Now, the Finnish state will pick up the cost of sending the aircraft to Oman.
"We wouldn't receive points for style in how we've communicated the ticket price, but we wanted to play it safe so that the opposite didn't happen," Tanner said.
He explained that it was a better approach to initially announce the maximum possible price, rather than be forced to backtrack and tell people the price would be doubled.
According to Tanner, the Finnish citizens in the United Arab Emirates have not been in dangerous situations, and no one has been injured.
However, he said their circumstances are stressful.
"Although in principle, getting out on a commercial flight is possible, but difficult. People shouldn't underestimate how hard it is to leave there now," Tanner told Yle.
The situation is also difficult in Qatar, according to the consular services chief.
The ministry has arranged a bus to help Finnish citizens cross the border from Qatar to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. From there, they will be able to try to book flights independently, according to Tanner.
