In a recent development, an Australian government minister has expressed his disappointment over repatriation flights from the Middle East returning with empty seats. This issue arises as many travelers are forced to pay exorbitant sums for taxis to escape the conflict-ridden region.

The situation has impacted thousands of travelers, as several Gulf nations have opted to close their airspace amid the intensifying US-Israeli-Iranian war. This closure has compelled airlines to either suspend or reroute their services in one of the world’s busiest aviation corridors.

Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Matt Thistlethwaite, shared insights with reporters on Saturday morning, highlighting that 500 Australians had successfully returned from the Middle East overnight. However, he emphasized that more than 100,000 Australians remain stranded in the region.

Minister Thistlethwaite has urged Australians to make their way to Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, and take advantage of any available commercial flights. “The opportunity for people to return home is much better in Riyadh,” he advised, noting the seriousness with which authorities are handling the situation.

“The opportunity for people to return home is much better in Riyadh,” he said.

“They’re taking the situation very seriously.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) will provide accommodation support for people when they travel to Riyadh, he says.

So far, 1,324 Australians have returned home on eight flights from the Middle East since Wednesday, while three more flights are expected to depart on Saturday.

Cross-border taxi trips on the rise

Stranded Australians are exploring different ways to leave the region, and some are choosing to take taxis across borders as flight cancellations continue across the Middle East.

SBS Arabic spoke to Dubai-based cab driver, Omran Khan, who said the number of travellers seeking cross-border trips had increased.

He says travellers are considering crossing into neighbouring Oman, where flights may still be available.

“A small car costs 3,000 dirhams ($ 1,164) from Dubai to Oman airport. A bigger car is 4,000 dirhams ($1,553) and bigger than that would be 5,000 dirhams ($1,941),” he said.

Khan said he was taking Australians to Oman, where Australians didn’t need a visa to be granted entry.

However, he wasn’t taking Australians to Saudi Arabia as “we’re not allowed”, he explained, and was instead taking some travellers to its border with the United Arab Emirates.

‘No end game’ in sight

The US has not provided a timeline for when it sees the conflict ending, with United States President Donald Trump previously saying it could take over a month.

Former foreign minister Bob Carr described the war, instigated by the US and Israel, as “wholly unnecessary” as Iran was “not close” to creating nuclear weapons, a claim disputed by the US and Israel.

“The relatively meagre Iranian response confirms that they did not have the capacity to do what Trump said,” he told ABC News Channel on Saturday morning.

“Their response has been weak.”

Carr described the US as inconsistent and said that the world doesn’t know what the US’s goal is for the conflict.

“America is like a blind giant dancing. And there’s no consistency, no sense of strategy. And in this case, no end game,” he said.

DFAT has opened its Crisis Portal for Australians in Bahrain, Kuwait and Lebanon, in addition to Iran, Israel, Qatar and the UAE.

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