163 Malaysians arrive home on first evacuation flight from West Asia

2026-03-11 - 07:45

Malaysians embarking on the flight leaving King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah this morning. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: One hundred and sixty-three Malaysians stranded in several West Asian countries arrived home today on Malaysia’s first evacuation flight. The foreign ministry said the group comprised umrah pilgrims in Saudi Arabia as well as Malaysians in Qatar, Jordan and Syria who were affected by flight schedule disruptions and airspace closures in the region. Malaysia Airlines flight MH8503, which departed from Jeddah early this morning, also carried seven non-citizen family members comprising five Thai nationals, one Indonesian and one Moroccan. The flight arrived at KLIA at 12.32pm. The passengers were seen exiting the airport’s Terminal 1 arrival hall at 1.45pm and being greeted by relatives. The operation to bring Malaysians home was coordinated by the National Security Council under the directive of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The Airbus A330-300 departed KLIA at 4.10pm on Tuesday and safely landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah at 8.35pm local time. Local authorities in Jeddah gave the mission only a short window to pick up the passengers before the flight returned to Malaysia. Fighting has escalated in the region following a coordinated attack on Iran by Israeli and US forces on Feb 28, with Iran carrying out retaliatory strikes on Israel and US interests in the Gulf region.