As explosions rocked Tehran and Gulf airspace closed on 1 March 2026, Poland’s foreign ministry (MSZ) launched an emergency telephone line – +48 22 523 88 80 – for nationals stranded across the Middle East. The hotline went live at 17:00 CET on Sunday and is manned daily from 08:00 to 22:00, supplementing existing embassy duty numbers. Spokesman Maciej Wewiór told public radio that consular staff are tracking more than 600 Polish citizens in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, plus some 200 in Israel and 40 in Lebanon. With regional airports closed and over 3,000 flights cancelled, travellers have been advised to shelter in place, keep travel documents close and register their location in the Odyseusz online system. The ministry warned against unsolicited evacuation offers circulating on social media and stressed that any government-organised flights would be announced exclusively through official channels. At the same time, Polish flag-carrier LOT suspended services to Dubai, Riyadh and Tel Aviv until at least 15 March, offering rebooking or refunds. For corporates the immediate tasks are head-counts of employees and dependants in the region, verification of travel-insurance coverage that includes conflict zones, and contingency planning for route changes via Europe once airspace restrictions ease. Companies should also remind affected staff to keep local SIM cards active to receive SMS alerts from Polish consulates.
Source: Polskie Radio – English Section
