Dozens of dogs and cats touched down in Athens on Wednesday alongside their owners, part of a special evacuation flight for Greek citizens stranded by the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Small dogs jumped excitedly at Athens International Airport after being released from their travel carriers, greeting relieved owners back on home soil.

The government-coordinated Aegean Airlines flight — dubbed "Operation Ark" — from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates reportedly carried 101 passengers and 45 pets. Officials emphasized the importance of keeping families — including their animals — together during the crisis.

"Our pets are not luggage, they are part of our families," Nikos Chrysakis, the Greek Interior Ministry's special secretary for the protection of companion animals, told The Associated Press.

He added that the Interior and Foreign Ministries had worked together for days "so we can have this good result, for the animals and people to return home safely."

The evacuation comes as regional instability disrupts air travel across the Middle East. The Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran has severely impacted airline operations, forcing repeated airspace closures and the cancellation of thousands of flights in major hubs like Dubai and Qatar, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded.

For many evacuees, leaving the war-torn region without their pets was not an option.

Danai Koukoulomati told the AP she refused to board any flight that wouldn't take her cat, Muay Thai.

"To me, my pet, my cat, is my family. There is no chance I'm going to leave him behind," she said.

But finding such a flight proved nearly impossible.

"It is very, very difficult to fly out of the country with your pets," Koukoulomati said.

She noted that during the conflict, her cat handled the chaos better than she did. When the explosions rang out, "he would hide in the bathroom, and that would be all."

"He was a calm cat," Koukoulomati said. "I was not as calm as my cat. I need to take some lessons from him."

Alexandra Papayanis, who had been living in Dubai for five years, arrived with her dog Sirtaki — named after a traditional Greek dance — and another dog she transported on behalf of a friend.

Like others, she said she struggled to find transportation that allowed animals.

"It's so important," Papayanis told AP. "I mean, our pets are part of our family. And in these very difficult circumstances, the challenges we are facing is how to bring our dogs and our cats back."

For passenger Maria Theochari, leaving without her dog Matisse was never under consideration.

"Like my kids, I have Matisse," she told the AP. "This is important for me. I don't separate my animal or my kids, it's the same for me."

President Donald Trump warned Wednesday night that the United States would respond with overwhelming force if Iran launches another attack on Qatar, vowing to "massively blow up the entirety" of the world's largest natural gas field.

In a social media post, Trump issued the threat following Iranian missile strikes on Qatar, targeting Tehran's South Pars gas field. The Iranian barrage came in retaliation for an earlier Israeli strike on the same site.

Qatari authorities said a ballistic missile hit a key natural gas facility, igniting a fire that caused "extensive" damage. In response, Qatar ordered several Iranian embassy officials to leave the country.

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