Polish citizens stranded on the Yemeni island of Socotra will be evacuated on Wednesday, 7 January 2026, following the launch of a special Yemenia Airways flight allowing onward travel to Saudi Arabia, Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
Maciej Wewiór, a spokesperson for the ministry, said the one-off connection would enable Polish nationals currently on the island to reach safety.
According to Poland’s embassy in Saudi Arabia, several dozen tourists who became stranded on Socotra have been offered transport to Jeddah, a major port city on the Red Sea coast.
The tourists had travelled to the island despite repeated official warnings from the Polish government advising against visits to Yemen and its territories.
Regular air connections to Socotra had been suspended amid a worsening security situation.
The Foreign Ministry has criticised certain tour operators for what it described as ignoring or downplaying official travel advisories.
Despite escalating risks and flight cancellations, some companies continued to market trips to Socotra, officials said.
Hundreds of foreign tourists, including Poles, have been left stranded on Socotra, in the Indian Ocean about 250 miles off Yemen’s coast, after flights were grounded due to the recent conflict between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, according to a statement by local authorities (STRINGER/PAP/EPA)
Poland has long advised against all travel to Yemen, which has been engulfed in civil war for years.
The ministry stressed that its travel warnings are updated on an ongoing basis and urged travellers to treat them as binding.
Polish diplomats have also reiterated calls for citizens travelling abroad to register their presence via the Odyseusz system, which enables consular services to provide assistance more effectively in emergencies.
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Source: IAR/MFA/X/@RzecznikMSZ/@PLinSaudiArabia