The man, who is an Estonian citizen, quickly received confirmation of his place on the evacuation flight, while his wife and children, all of whom are Russian citizens, were denied the option to fly from Muscat to Estonia.

According to the woman involved, in its official response, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended she contact the country of her citizenship – in this case, the Russian Federation.

"We flew to Dubai for the school holidays. We were here when the attacks started. Now we are no longer in Dubai, it was not too difficult for us to get to Oman," the woman told ERR.

"We were delighted when we heard about the special flight and immediately filled out the registration form. But while my husband received confirmation of his place this afternoon, my children and I were refused. In its response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised me to contact the Russian authorities. But I haven't been there for 10 years," she explained.

Ministry: Families where one spouse is an Estonian citizen are able to travel together

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told ERR on Wednesday evening that, in general, families in which one of spouse is an Estonian citizen should be able to travel on the extraordinary flights together. However, at the same time, the ministry also added that situations such as this are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

"According to current information, if a person who is not an Estonian citizen has an Estonian residence permit a valid visa, for example, then, as far as we are aware, they should be able to board this flight. And if one parent in a family is an Estonian citizen and the other is not, according to our information, the whole family can board the flight," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kerstin Meresma told ERR on Wednesday evening,

The ministry spokesperson added that additional assistance can be requested by email or by calling the emergency number on the ministry's website.

The woman involved emphasized that being separated due to the evacuation has made what was already a stressful situation much worse. "We are officially registered as a family. My husband will not leave without us. But the state is separating our family, and we do not understand how to proceed."

The woman added that she intends to continue her attempts to resolve the issue and hopes that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will reconsider its decision.

"Tomorrow, I will write again and find out what to do next," she said.

The first extraordinary flight from Oman to Tallinn for Estonian citizens trying to to return home is due to depart on Thursday (March 5).

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