OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says a chartered flight is scheduled to leave from Dubai to Istanbul Saturday, carrying 180 Canadians exiting the Middle East war zone.

Anand says the flight will operate on a cost-recovery basis.

The government has block-booked seats on a few Air Arabia flights, securing about 50 seats on each flight for Canadians travelling from Dubai to Istanbul.

The minister says the government also arranged 51 seats for Canadians on an Emirates flight on Saturday travelling from Dubai to Toronto.

Anand says the government has also booked 200 seats on four separate flights from Beirut to Istanbul in the coming days.

Anand also confirmed during a virtual news conference today that Canada has four chartered buses with a total of 180 seats that will leave Qatar for Saudi Arabia beginning Saturday.

Anand says more than 108,000 Canadians in the region have registered with Global Affairs Canada, and about 3,500 of them have requested help to get out of the region.

Lead image caption: A map showing travel advisory risk levels in the Middle East is shown behind Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand as she speaks at a news conference at the Emergency Watch and Response Centre at Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa, on March 4, 2026 (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)