Operation Desert Shine: Military aircraft evacuates over 200 Koreans from Middle East

Evacuees from the Middle East leave the military aircraft after it landed at Seoul Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Operation Desert Shine, carried out jointly by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought back more than 200 citizens from Saudi Arabia amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Joint Press Corps

A Korean military aircraft evacuated more than 200 citizens stranded in the Middle East and brought them home from Saudi Arabia Sunday, amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

Carried out jointly by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the operation involved a KC-330 Cygnus multirole aerial tanker that landed at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, around 6 p.m.

It carried 204 Koreans and seven foreign nationals, including five family members of Korean citizens and two Japanese nationals. The Japanese nationals were included given the close ties between the two countries, officials said.

The Cygnus military transport plane, which departed from Korea the previous day, arrived in Riyadh Saturday afternoon local time before departing for Korea hours later with passengers aboard.

More than 140 of the evacuees had been in Saudi Arabia, while 24 came from Bahrain, 14 from Kuwait and 28 from Lebanon. Those staying in Kuwait traveled by bus to Riyadh under the guidance of embassy officials, while others in Lebanon caught commercial flights to the Saudi capital, officials said.

For the operation, the government sought overflight clearance from about 10 countries along the route and dispatched a rapid response team led by former foreign ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong.

A defense ministry official said the operation, code-named Desert Shine, reflects the government’s determination to guide Korean nationals in the Middle East to safety and provide protection for them.

A Korean family poses with an Air Force officer aboard a military plane bringing more than 200 Korean nationals home from Saudi Arabia, Sunday, in an evacuation operation amid the Iran conflict. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

About 30 officials were aboard the aircraft, including Air Force pilots, combat controllers responsible for security and maintenance and medical staff.

The government had also considered using commercial or chartered aircraft for the evacuation, but ultimately decided on a military transport due to safety and other operational factors.

According to sources, passengers are expected to pay about 880,000 won ($590) per person for the flight under government regulations.

The evacuation operation came as thousands of Koreans have been stranded across the Middle East due to severe flight disruptions after Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel began their joint strike on Iran.

The Republic of Korea Air Force operates four KC-330 Cygnus aircraft. This was the seventh time one has been deployed overseas to evacuate nationals. The previous evacuation took place in 2024, when a KC-330 brought 96 people from Lebanon during Israel's ground offensive against Hezbollah.

Evacuees from the Middle East leave the military aircraft after it landed at Seoul Air Base in Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Joint Press Corps