Bahrain Says Operating Direct Flights to Iran to Repatriate Citizens
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Bahrain's state-owned national carrier has finally decided to begin flying to Iran to repatriate Bahrainis stranded in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, a report said.
"Gulf Air has begun operating direct flights to Iran to expedite the safe return of citizens," the airline said in a statement on Monday, Reuters reported.
There have been no direct flights since January 2016 between Bahrain and Iran, which have no diplomatic ties.
Gulf Air canceled most of its services in mid-March due to the spread of the virus, but is still flying to and from London, Paris, Frankfurt and Manila, the statement said.
"Gulf Air has successfully returned Bahraini citizens from the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Turkey," it said.
More than a thousand Bahrainis, most of them pilgrims visiting religious sites, have been stranded for more than two months in Iran due to Manama’s refusal to send its own planes to the country to take them home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
