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For Dutch travelers who are stuck in Israel, bus transport is arranged to Egypt. From there they can then return home with commercial flights. That is what outgoing minister Caspar Veldkamp (Foreign Affairs, NSC) said on Sunday.

The facility is only intended for people with a place of residence in the Netherlands, Veldkamp emphasized. “It’s not about everyone who just lives somewhere. It’s about really Dutch people who are stranded, are traveling.” They cannot leave Israel by plane because the airspace is closed due to the war with Iran.

The buses will be used in the coming days. Any partners and children of Dutch travelers can also use it, provided they also live in the Netherlands.

The Dutch in Iraq must independently cross the border with, for example, Turkey or Jordan, but can get help with that. “That also worked in a number of cases last week,” said Veldkamp.

Travelers who want to leave Iran do not have to count on help. Veldkamp points out that since October 2022 a red travel advice has been applied to that country. “That really means: don’t travel there. If you still travel there, we probably can’t help you.”

Chairman Pejman Akbarzadeh of the Persian Dutch Network says that some Dutch travelers have gone independently from Iran to the Turkish or Armenian border. Furthermore, Iran’s airspace has been closed since the Israeli attacks on that country from more than a week ago. So there were no flights to Tehran since then. There are also Dutch Iranians who previously wanted to travel to Tehran but have canceled their own flight, according to Akbarzadeh. “Everyone felt that something was about to happen, although we didn’t think it would be so fast and on such a large scale.”