Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel confirmed the repatriation efforts had begun to reporters shortly before departing for a visit to Madrid on Thursday morning, amid news that two flights had left the Middle East for Luxembourg.
One of the flights is operated by Luxair, while the other has been chartered by the government and is operated by an Egyptian airline.
The first flight, carrying 104 passengers, departed from Oman at around 6.30pm on Wednesday and made a stopover in Egypt. Passengers were accommodated in hotels overnight before continuing their journey to Luxembourg Airport (Findel). The plane landed shortly after 6.30pm.
A second flight, which was chartered with 97 passengers on board departed directly from Oman, landing in Luxembourg at around 1.30pm on Thursday afternoon.
Authorities are also holding discussions, notably with Belgium, about organising further repatriation flights. A plane from the MRTT fleet is currently stationed in Hurghada and is expected to fly to Muscat, while Luxair has another special flight in Hurghada that will also travel to Oman during the day.
Officials said plans for further evacuations depend largely on the evolving security situation in the region.
Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel described the situation on the ground as chaotic, particularly at the border with Oman. According to Bettel, some people are being asked to pay additional fees in order to enter the country. He lamented that individuals were attempting to profit from the situation.
He also reported difficult conditions at Muscat airport. Bettel added that it remains unclear when Dubai International Airport will be able to reopen. For this reason, authorities opted for the current evacuation arrangements in order to bring people back to Luxembourg as quickly as possible.
According to Bettel, 132 Luxembourgers are currently accommodated in hotels in Muscat, Oman, and 140 people are at the border.
