The flight is organized tonight together with Sweden. However, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, changes are possible until the last minute.
Finland plans to organize a third evacuation flight out of Israel. The flight from Tel Aviv will be organized in cooperation with Sweden today, Friday evening.
Previously, it was reported that there were two Finnish evacuation flights.
Consular Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jussi Tanner told Radio Suomen Päivä that there have been changes to the flight schedules.
The first flight leaves today, Friday evening, and it will be organized together with Sweden. Just after midnight, another flight, Finland’s own, leaves.
According to current information, one more flight will leave tomorrow, Saturday. However, changes are possible until the last minute.
Everyone would have been able to get home on these flights
According to Tanner, Finland strives to offer the opportunity to leave the country to everyone who wants it. These three flights will probably get everyone who requested evacuation home.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ estimate, 1,000–2,000 Finnish citizens reside in Israel. About 500 of them have made a travel notification and about 170 have signed up for an evacuation flight.
Flights are organized by commercial charter flights. Those who participate in them pay around 500 euros for their ticket.
Close cooperation with other Nordic countries
According to Tanner, Finland has been in contact with other Nordic countries since last Saturday.
– The joint flight between Sweden and Finland is proof that Nordic cooperation is close, Tanner stated.
Each Nordic country organizes its own evacuation flights, but the remaining seats are shared with others.
According to Tanner, the hardest part of evacuation is getting people to the right place at the right time. Evacuation flights typically have empty seats because the equipment may change and people tend to change their minds.
All in all, there is a lot of uncertainty involved in evacuation flights, as situations change all the time.