More than 4,000 Swiss tourists have been blocked in the Middle East

More than 4,000 Swiss tourists are currently trapped in the Middle East region after the American military operation in Iran. DFAE is in contact with the Swiss airline to find a solution for repatriation.

The overwhelming majority of tourists blocked due to the closure of the region's airspace are in the United Arab Emirates, Marianne Jenni, director of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Directorate (FDFA), told the press Monday. Its service is working to support Swiss citizens in the region, she added.

For now, the Confederata has no intention of repatriating them, because there is no way to do that. “Individual accountability applies in line with the law on Foreign Switzerland”, Marianne Jenni said at 12:30 p.m. She adds that federal authorities are constantly monitoring the situation and are in contact with the Swiss company “to see which solutions are possible”.

“We are unaware of any Swiss victim of a strike or injured”, she said.

Journey not recommended

More than 1,000 people have contacted the aid line created by the FDFA since the deteriorating situation in the Middle East on Saturday. The number of persons registered on the Travel Admin app that allows you to track passengers who need support has increased in recent days, reports RTS, broadcast albinfo.ch.

FDFA now cautions against any non-religious travel to Lebanon, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Attitudes in Israel and Iran were already discouraged.

The Swiss company announced on Sunday that it was extending its suspension of flights to and from Dubai to 4 March. Flights to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended until March 8th.

Government Concerns and Comforts

Confederate President Guy Parmeli said he was very concerned about this fire in the Middle East. “Switzerland calls on all sides to protect civil populations, maintain infrastructure and return to diplomacy as soon as possible”, the Federal Adviser said in the margins of signing bilateral agreements with the EU in Brussels, specifying that Switzerland is still ready to assist the parties in the deespass.

Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis expressed the government's condolences to the victims of attacks and counterattacks in the region in the margins of a event at Grandson (VD).

Ticino said he was afraid of a situation similar to that in Iraq 30 years ago. “Progress has been made during discussions, the Federal Councillor said. But they did not please the United States, which made the decision to conduct an operation against Iran.