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A British family has been left stranded in the Middle East after being wrongly denied boarding on a UK evacuation flight from Oman, despite holding valid British passports.
Nusaybah Sattar, 26, from London, said the family has received an apology from the UK government but has not been offered any practical help to return home.
Sattar and her relatives were in Dubai celebrating her brother-in-law’s 40th birthday when Iranian drones and missiles struck the region last Saturday, triggering panic and disruptions across the Gulf.
“At first we heard loud bangs and thought it was construction work,” Sattar said. “Then we realised what was actually happening. It made us realise it could happen anywhere.”
Concerned for their safety, the family of six drove eight hours from Dubai to Oman and registered with the UK government for evacuation assistance. They were informed that a charter flight to London had been arranged for British nationals.
The family paid more than £1,700 for tickets but were stopped from boarding the flight on Wednesday when Foreign Office staff told them most of the group had not been approved to travel.
According to Sattar, only her 19-month-old child and her 84-year-old wheelchair-using grandmother-in-law were cleared to board.
“Those two are the most vulnerable in our family and they need carers. They cannot travel alone,” she said.
Her husband later contacted the UK Home Office, which reportedly claimed the family lacked the correct visas to enter Britain. However, every member of the group holds a valid UK passport.
Sattar also said officials flagged a problem with her name in the system because she had changed her surname after marriage.
She believes the issue may have been influenced by their background. “If we had English names, I don’t think there would have been a problem,” she said.
With only 30 minutes left before departure, the family had to abandon their attempt to board the flight.
The charter flight was part of a large evacuation operation launched after the United States and Israel carried out strikes against Iran, escalating tensions across the region. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the evacuation as “one of the biggest of its kind”.
More than 140,000 British nationals have registered their presence in the Middle East with the UK Foreign Office. However, several MPs and affected citizens have criticised the slow pace and limited capacity of the evacuation effort.
Airspace across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was initially closed following the Iranian strikes but has since reopened in a limited capacity.
The situation became more confusing when the Foreign Office later informed Sattar’s mother that the family had been cleared to board but had not shown up at the airport — a claim Sattar denies.
“There are so many different explanations and none of them are true. It’s completely disorganised,” she said.
Although several officials have apologised by phone, Sattar says no assistance has been offered to help the family leave the region.
After waiting in Oman without answers, the family drove another eight hours back to Dubai to stay with relatives. The following morning, Sattar was informed that another evacuation flight would depart from Oman later that day — but by then they were unable to return in time.
The family says they have already spent nearly £4,000 on flights, hotels, and transport while trying to leave the region. Sattar added that taxi drivers were charging up to £1,000 per person for trips from Dubai to Oman during the crisis.
She also said her elderly grandmother, a stroke patient with severe back problems, has now run out of essential medication.
Sattar is urging UK authorities to arrange safe transport back to Oman or secure seats for her family on another evacuation flight from the UAE.
“I always believed the British embassy would help its citizens return home safely,” she said. “It shouldn’t matter what your name is. If you are a British national, you should be able to come home.”
The UK Foreign Office and Home Office have been contacted for comment.
