A land crossing through the UAE-Oman border has become the latest option for Filipinos seeking to leave the Dubai amid ongoing regional tensions, with 20 overseas Filipino workers and nine of their dependents successfully using the route Tuesday morning to board an Oman Air flight back to the Philippines.
The overland trip, organized by the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Dubai, passed through the Hatta-Al Wajajah crossing — a roughly two-hour drive southeast of Dubai where the UAE shares a border with Oman — after repeated drone strikes on Dubai International Airport since February 28 disrupted normal flight operations.
“Unang subok ito (ng land route with Oman). Tinawid muna namin sa border,” Labor Attaché John Rio Bautista said, as quoted by GMA News Online.
Despite the contingency measure, the MWO has noted a significant drop in the number of OFWs pushing through with repatriation. Of the roughly 300 who registered through the office’s hotline as of February 28, nearly 60 percent have since withdrawn their requests or gone silent — a trend Bautista attributed to the situation not deteriorating to the point where workers felt compelled to leave.
“Sixty percent ng for repatriation mula February 28, nag-cancel kasi hindi pa naman gan’un (kagulo) ang sitwasyon,” he said.
No-shows have also created logistical and financial complications. In one case involving an Oman-routed flight, only 29 of an expected 33 registrants actually made the trip. “Kagaya niyan, apat sa Oman flight hindi dumating. Thirty-three sana sila. Eh bayad na ticket at Oman visa ng mga iyon,” Bautista noted.
Commercial flights have continued to move larger numbers. Emirates Airlines flights EK334 and EK336 carried 373 and 256 mostly stranded passengers — those caught by the airport closure — on Sunday and Monday respectively.
OFWs seeking assistance can reach the MWO through two hotlines: +971 056 353 5558 for Assistance to Nationals and +971 050 558 5536 for the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. Bautista said those who call will be verified and must have no outstanding loans or travel bans before processing can begin.
The regional conflict escalated after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, prompting Iranian retaliatory attacks that eventually extended to Gulf states hosting American military installations.
