FLIGHT OUT OF CHAOS

Plane is chartered but evacuating 132,000 Britons set to take weeks

- BY DAVE BURKE

THE first Government-chartered flight out of the war-torn Middle East is due to leave in the coming days, as officials scramble to evacuate Brits caught up in the chaos.

It is feared that US and Israeli strikes could carry on for weeks and sources say there is no sign that Iran's capacity to fire ballistic missiles is slowing down.

By yesterday 132,000 British nationals had registered their presence in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Around 110,000 of these were in the UAE.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that a chartered flight will depart from Muscat in Oman which can be reached by road from Dubai and Abu Dhabi - in the coming days.

She said it is a fast-moving situation, telling MPs there is an unprecedented number of British nationals in the region.

Cooper said: “We are... working with airlines on increasing capacity out of Muscat for British nationals, with priority for vulnerable nationals.

“A Government charter flight will fly from Muscat in the coming days, prioritising vulnerable nationals.”

British Airways yesterday announced it will operate one flight from Muscat to London Heathrow, departing tomorrow.