RIYADH, 24 February 2003 — With a US-led war on Iraq becoming a clear possibility, and in the wake of the shooting of Briton Robert Dent last Thursday, the exodus of British and American nationals and their dependents in the Kingdom has begun, a reliable source at British Airways told Arab News last night.
He added that BA’s biweekly London-bound flight is leaving almost full.
From today, the airline will bring departure forward from 2 a.m. to 23.55 p.m. for the convenience of the extra passengers.
BA has canceled the arrangements with Riyadh Marriott for the accommodation of its 13-member crew.
An airline executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the situation as confusing.
The BA source said: “We have been receiving lots of inquiries concerning the current situation in the region. They want to know whether the flights will operate when war breaks out.
“However, some people started leaving before the Eid Al-Adha vacation, while others have been on extended leave since Christmas.”
According to a Delta Airlines official in the Central Province, all Delta connecting flights to the European sector and onward to the US are fully booked from the first week of March.
The airline charges 50 percent of the price of the round-trip ticket for one-way tickets, and is expecting the return segment for the round-trip tickets to be canceled.
The situation in Riyadh, where Dent was gunned down by a Yemen-born Saudi, seems to be more tense than in the rest of the country — at least in the hot-house climate of compound life.
“There is almost a panic here,” one British resident told Arab News yesterday. “People are planning to get out,” he said.
Compound staff in Jeddah refused to comment on the record. But one, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that numerous families were now planning to go.
“There is no mass exodus, and the men aren’t going to go, but other members of the families are already talking about leaving. I know of two families who have booked flights to get the kids out. It’s all happened so suddenly. Some people are waiting to see what happens, and they will talk it through over the coming weeks.
“I think that, between now and next week, we will see a lot of people deciding to leave. The murder was the last straw,” the compound staff member added.
In a related development, Musarrat Hussain, general manager of Minhal Travels in Riyadh, told Arab News that while the passenger traffic has nose-dived by more than 80 percent on the European and North American sectors, it has shot up by over 100 percent on nearby destinations in the Gulf and the Middle East.
“Saudis are no longer going to those destinations, except for official or essential duties,” he added. “Saudi students returning from the US are seeking admission in universities closer to home. Domestic tourism has picked up significantly, giving a big boost to the recreation industry.”
