UK to charter flight for British nationals out of Dubai

The UK government will charter a flight from Dubai early next week for British nationals wanting to leave the region, subject to the situation on the ground.

The commercial flight, to leave from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be available for a charge.

British nationals, their spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 are eligible to register.

Conflict has continued in the region, with the UAE and Qatar reporting missile and drone attacks on Saturday.

Two government-chartered flights so far have returned British citizens from Muscat, Oman.

The first landed at Stansted airport on Friday, the second at Gatwick airport on Saturday. A third flight will leave Muscat on Sunday.

The Foreign Office said the Dubai flight will be in addition to commercial routes operating out of the UAE and will leave early next week.

The government says all passengers must hold a valid travel document and non-British dependants will require a valid visa or permission to enter or remain that was granted for more than six months.

The Foreign Office will contact people directly to issue them a ticket and will prioritise those who are vulnerable, such as those with urgent medical needs.

More than 160,000 people have registered their presence in the region with the Foreign Office.

Air travel via Dubai, one of the world's busiest airports, has been severely disrupted since Iran began launching retaliatory strikes at Gulf nations in response to the US and Israel's offensive.

Last week, Emirates briefly suspended all flights from Dubai, which is a popular tourist destination for UK nationals.

On Saturday, footage verified by the BBC showed what appeared to be a drone striking within the perimeter of Dubai International Airport.

The footage, filmed from an industrial area just south of the airport, captured an explosion close to a terminal building.

The UAE government has not commented on the incident.

Throughout the week, British people who have been stranded in the region have told the BBC about their experiences.

On 28 February, Victoria Cameron, from Larkhall in Scotland, was queuing to get into her Dubai hotel when the first Iranian missiles struck the city.

"Then the staff said 'run, run, leave your suitcases'. They rushed us all to the side of the hotel.

"Our phones were going off, saying 'emergency, emergency'. We were crying, we were shaking."

Cameron arrived back in Edinburgh on Wednesday on an Emirates airline flight.

Stuart Carson was staying at Fairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai on Saturday when it was struck, causing his "whole room to completely shake".

"Once dawn broke, we started to feel a bit more comfortable with the situation and just gathered our thoughts and had breakfast in the hotel," he said.

He arrived back home in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, after a number of earlier flights he had booked were cancelled by airlines.