When the war in Iran broke out and the airspace was closed in several countries in the Middle East, thousands of Swedes were stranded in the area, especially in the United Arab Emirates.
"We are counting in the hundreds rather than thousands now," says Svante Liljegren, the Swedish Foreign Ministry's head of consular affairs.
Travel companies Ving, Apollo and Tui already said on Monday that they had managed to get many of their travelers home. Those who are still there are people who had flown there regularly to the area.
Got bus transportation
But things are looking brighter for them too now that air traffic is gradually resuming.
"We had 320 people fly from Dubai to Stockholm today, the same number is expected to fly tomorrow and 300 on Thursday. So that alone is almost 1,000 people coming back," says Svante Liljegren.
Around 40 Swedes have also been transported by bus from Qatar's capital Doha to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, a transport that was arranged by the embassy in Doha in cooperation with other Nordic countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will now withdraw the additional resources sent to the embassies in Abu Dhabi and Doha, as the need for assistance is no longer as great.
"Doesn't have to be over"
Can we say that the worst of the crisis is over for those who have been stranded?
"We have reached the 'peak' regarding the stranded Swedes in the region, yes. But since the situation is as serious as it is, it is not possible to draw any hasty conclusions about this being over, because it absolutely does not have to be," says Svante Liljegren.
In addition, there are Swedes remaining in, for example, Southeast Asia, whose flights were affected when airspace was closed in the Middle East.
"We don't really know how many Swedes are stranded in other places. So it's difficult to say with certainty that everyone will be home at a certain time," says Svante Liljegren.
