The first evacuation flight commissioned by the German government to repatriate stranded nationals in the Middle East is due to land in Frankfurt early on Thursday.

The Lufthansa airline said the Airbus A340-300 jet is scheduled to take off from Oman’s capital Muscat around midnight (2300 GMT Wednesday).

The aircraft has space for 279 passengers.

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul announced earlier this week that the German government would assist with evacuating vulnerable nationals such as pregnant women, sick people, and children amid the ongoing conflict in the region, which was sparked by the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of travellers have been stranded since the weekend after Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on several Gulf states, forcing widespread airspace closures across the Middle East region.

Figures from the German Travel Association suggest around 30,000 customers of German tour operators are unable to fly home, a figure the Foreign Office in Berlin described as broadly reliable.

Airlines and tour operators are scrambling to organise the safe return of stranded tourists and cruise ship passengers.

Limited flight operations have resumed in the United Arab Emirates despite the continuing missile strikes across the region.

On Tuesday, an Emirates flight from Dubai landed in Frankfurt, while another arrived at Munich Airport carrying TUI customers.

 (dpa/NAN)