Aqlima Amini greets her family as they arrive from Dubai at Pearson airport in Toronto on Saturday. At least 50 Canadians were on the flight after booking seats with the assistance of Global Affairs Canada.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
More than 4,300 Canadians, permanent residents and their family members have fled to Canada from the Middle East, with hundreds using transportation booked by Ottawa to get out of the war-torn region, Global Affairs said Tuesday.
They made the journey between March 4 and 8, Global Affairs said in a statement. Many had to travel through several countries to get to Canada.
Since March 4, the federal government has facilitated the departure of 871 Canadians and permanent residents and their family to a safe third country, including on buses, a charter flight and prebooked seats on commercial airlines.
More than 110,700 Canadians are registered with the government in the region and are receiving updates on possible transport options.
But friends and family members of Canadians in Iran have told The Globe and Mail they are having problems accessing the updates because of a lack of internet and communications in that country.
First government-chartered flight evacuating Canadians from Middle East lands in Istanbul
The federal government has posted consular officials at the borders between Iran and neighbouring countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, to help Canadians able to cross by car or minibus find onward transportation.
Global Affairs said it will continue to help Canadians leave the region, including booking seats on available commercial flights. It said additional flights from Beirut will leave in the coming days while preparations to bus Canadians from Bahrain are under way.
The cost of seats being booked by the government will have to be repaid by people travelling. Not all seats reserved by Ottawa have been filled by Canadians and the government has been offering them to other European countries and allies of Canada, such as Australia, to help evacuate their citizens.
Ottawa chartered a plane to fly 180 Canadians from Dubai to Istanbul on Saturday but only 93 Canadians were on board.
It also has been block-booking seats on commercial flights from Lebanon and United Arab Emirates to fly Canadians out of those countries, including to Istanbul in Turkey.
A mix of frustration and relief as Canadians arrive home from Middle East
A flight on Saturday from Dubai to Toronto had 51 Canadians on board. But a flight from Beirut to Istanbul with seats booked for 50 Canadians had only 28 Canadians on board.
The government has been expediting visas for family of Canadians hoping to accompany them to Canada and providing emergency travel documents for Canadians whose passports may have run out.
Global Affairs said there had also been a drop in calls to the government’s 24-hour emergency-response centre, from nearly 1,400 calls per day at the peak last week to just over 600 on Monday.
“Due to the gradual resumption of commercial flights in certain parts of the region, uptake has been decreasing by Canadians and permanent residents for seats on flights and ground transportation co-ordinated by the Government of Canada,” it said.