PUBLISHED ONMarch 10, 2026 11:10 AMBYSean LerMalaysia's National Security Council on Tuesday (March 10) began an operation to evacuate its citizens and their dependants from the conflict-hit Middle East by sending a Malaysia Airlines charter flight to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The operation is being carried out on the instruction of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who had directed that "all necessary measures" be carried out to ensure the safety and welfare of Malaysians in the affected areas.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH8502 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) just after 4.10pm and is expected to land in Jeddah at about 1.50am (Singapore, Malaysia time).
The flight is planned to depart Jeddah at 3.20am, and is expected to land back at KLIA before noon on Wednesday.
Bernama reported that the flight will bring home a group of Malaysians and their dependants who were previously stranded at several locations, including Jordan, Qatar and Syria.
It added that the estimated number of passengers for this flight is around 200 people, including students, travellers, and umrah pilgrims.
In a Facebook post on Monday, the Embassy of Malaysia in Doha said it facilitated the movement of Malaysians stranded in Qatar to Jeddah by bus, as part of the evacuation arrangements.
According to records from Malaysia's Foreign Ministry, there are a total of 641 Malaysian in "several affected countries in the region" as of March 8.
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