Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry arranges third flight to return people from Israel
Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry, through the embassy in Tel Aviv, managed to secure 57 seats for Bulgarian citizens on a private airline flight from Tel Aviv to Sofia on October 11, the ministry said.
Among those successfully brought out of the country are 29 tourists, families with small children and Bulgarian citizens who were located in particularly risky areas, as well as humanitarian cases.
The October 11 flight follows two arranged by the Bulgarian government and Foreign Ministry at the weekend following the large-scale attack on Israel by terrorist group Hamas.
The Foreign Ministry said in its October 11 statement that if the security situation allows, the possibility of traveling Tel Aviv – Sofia on regular flights of Bulgaria Air and El Al, as well as the Haifa – Larnaca (Cyprus) ferry line, remains.
The ministry said that according to the Bulgarian embassy in Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport was continuing to operate with limited capacity and various airlines operate part of their scheduled flights to other countries.
The Situation Centre Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Tel Aviv are preparing a list of Bulgarian citizens who wish to be transported from Israel, which will be used for a possible future flight from the country, the statement said.
On October 11, Wizz Air flights between Sofia and Tel Aviv were cancelled, while the European Air Charter flight to Sofia – on which the 57 travelled – went ahead and El Al flights between Tel Aviv and Sofia were scheduled to go ahead.
Separately, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry appealed to the country’s citizens to avoid visiting areas in Jordan where there were demonstrations and large gatherings of people in support of the Palestinians.
Tourist visits to the regions bordering Israel and the West Bank, as well as Jordan’s capital city Amman, Zarqa, Irbid and Russeifa should be avoided, the ministry said.
In the capital, do not visit the areas of the Old City (so-called Downtown) and the Al-Husseini mosques in the Old City and Al-Kaluti in the Al-Rabiah quarter, it said.
Security forces were taking the necessary measures for the peaceful progress of the demonstrations, but increased vigilance should be shown, the Foreign Ministry said.
The statement said that groups crossing from Israel to Jordan must organise in advance a bus that would wait for them on the Jordanian side of the border.
(Photo, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maria Gabriel greeting the arrivals on October 11: Foreign Ministry)
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