Faced with escalating tensions in the Middle East, Tui CEO Sebastian Ebel announced retrieval operations for German tourists stranded in the region. “We hope to begin the return operation today” the travel‑group chairman told RTL and ntv.
About 30,000 Germans are currently in the area as tourists, roughly 10,000 of them customers of Tui. Initial flights are scheduled to Munich, with the company working alongside partner airlines Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways. Tuifly’s own aircraft are also on standby, “once we get permission to fly to the area and can pick up customers as quickly as possible”.
Tui keeps almost all affected guests in contact via its proprietary app. “We will, of course, bring our customers home. That is our core mission” Ebel said, adding that they would “do everything humanly possible given the security situation”.
The duration of the return mission remains uncertain. “With the 10,000 customers we have there, it will certainly take a few days” he said. The prerequisite is the availability of safe air corridors, and a precise timeline cannot be given amid the dynamic military situation.