Thousands of ordinary travellers, many of them on holiday or in the middle of a routine trip, found themselves suspended between departure and arrival when US and Israeli strikes on Iran closed the skies over much of the Middle East. In Dubai, Doha and Muscat, the familiar machinery of global travel stalled: planes sat on runways, queues stretched through immigration halls, and passengers were told to wait for a message that had no promised hour. It is a reminder of how much of modern life rests on the quiet assumption that the air above a crowded region will stay open, and how quickly that as
'It's chaos here': Britons stranded across the Gulf as flights are cancelled after US strikes on Iran
Thousands of British travellers are stranded across the Gulf region with no confirmed departure dates, and some are sheltering as missiles are intercepted overhead.
It's not a case of a delayed flight. It's a case of an attack.
Mark
Why did this one strike hit travellers so hard, so fast?
Mimi
Because Dubai is a hub. Around 250,000 passengers pass through on a normal day, and when it stopped, everyone mid-journey stopped with it. Qatar Airways halted flights from Doha too.
Mark
Martin Boreham's experience seems almost surreal. Boarded, then three hours on the tarmac.
Mimi
Yes. He sat ready to go for about fifteen minutes before the captain announced the airspace was closed. Then came immigration again, bags, and a promised text message he found vague.
Luke
Worth noting these are individual accounts to one newspaper. Hundreds of cancellations and thousands stranded are the report's framing, but we don't have an airline or government count.
Mark
And Elliot Worthing was diverted to Muscat. What stands out there?
Mimi
That passengers only learned of the attacks after landing. He described initial panic about whether Oman was safe, then a hotel transfer.
Luke
His expectation of a week or longer is his own guess. Nobody quoted has been given a timeline.
Mark
Jonny Escott mentioned two flights on Monday.
Mimi
Staff said it looked like two might go, but he said no one really knows. He's with family in Hartlepool meanwhile.
Mark
Rosie Murray-West is in the most exposed position.
Mimi
She hears missiles being intercepted overhead, and everyone has been told to shelter. Yet she says the streets are calm, partly because it's Ramadan.
Luke
Her description of the interceptions is what she heard, not an independently confirmed account. What's unknown is when airspace reopens, and that decides everything else.
O Pulso
- Dubai International, the region's busiest hub, suspended all flights on Saturday, leaving planes stranded on the tarmac for hours.
- Passengers describe chaotic immigration queues and vague airline instructions, with no firm rebooking dates in sight.
- Travellers diverted to Muscat or sheltering in Doha are hearing missiles intercepted overhead while they wait.
- Airlines are trying to clear a backlog of stranded passengers, but no one knows when the closed airspace will reopen.
Thousands of ordinary travellers, many of them on holiday or in the middle of a routine trip, found themselves suspended between departure and arrival when US and Israeli strikes on Iran closed the skies over much of the Middle East. In Dubai, Doha and Muscat, the familiar machinery of global travel stalled: planes sat on runways, queues stretched through immigration halls, and passengers were told to wait for a message that had no promised hour. It is a reminder of how much of modern life rests on the quiet assumption that the air above a crowded region will stay open, and how quickly that assumption can dissolve when war reaches the sky.
Martin Boreham was fifteen minutes into his British Airways flight home from Dubai when the captain announced that the airspace had closed. The plane then sat on the tarmac for three hours. When passengers finally disembarked, they were sent back through immigration, told to collect their bags, and asked to wait for a text message. Boreham, a retired visitor who has been coming to Dubai for thirty years, described the scene as carnage and chaos, with hundreds of people queuing at once. He had no idea whether he would leave on Monday or a week later.
The closures followed US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday. Iranian and Iraqi airspace shut as the fighting spread, and Dubai International, one of the busiest airports in the world, halted every flight. Qatar Airways stopped all operations from Doha. Across the region, hundreds of flights were grounded, leaving thousands of Britons waiting.
Elliot Worthing was on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Manchester when it was diverted to Muscat. Passengers only learned of the attacks after landing, and there was brief panic as they tried to judge whether Oman was safe. He was put up in a hotel and expects to be stuck for days, possibly a week.
Jonny Escott and his partner Rebecca, who had lived in Dubai for five years, were due to fly home on Emirates from Newcastle, only to find their flight cancelled before check-in had even opened. Staff suggested two flights might leave on Monday, but nobody could promise anything. They have gone to stay with family in Hartlepool.
In Doha, the journalist Rosie Murray-West was told to shelter as alarms sounded on her phone. She can hear missiles passing overhead and being intercepted, yet the streets remain calm. She is unable to fly, and no one has confirmed when she might.
For now, no traveller has a confirmed departure date. What comes next depends on whether the airspace reopens and how quickly airlines can clear the stranded passengers waiting across Dubai, Doha and Muscat.
Martin Boreham had been sitting on a British Airways plane at Dubai International for about fifteen minutes, ready for the 1.10pm departure to Heathrow, when the captain came on to say the airspace had been closed. The aircraft then stayed on the tarmac for three hours. When passengers finally got off, they were told to go back through immigration, collect their bags and wait for a text message.
The closure followed US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday. Iran's and Iraq's airspace were shut as the military action escalated, with blasts reported in several countries across the region. Dubai International, the biggest international aviation hub in the world, suspended all flights. On a typical day around 250,000 passengers arrive and depart there. Qatar Airways also halted all flights to and from its base in Doha. Global airlines grounded hundreds of flights, and thousands of Britons were left stranded.
Boreham, now retired, had been in Dubai for a week with his wife, and has been visiting for 30 years. He described the scene to The Independent as carnage and chaos, with hundreds of people queueing for immigration and baggage handling at once. It was not only BA passengers, he said, but every flight that had been due to leave. He found the airline's instructions vague and said he was concerned about them. His plan was to book a hotel once out of the airport, with no idea when he could leave: it might be Monday, he said, or a week on Monday. He added that no one had been in this situation before.
Elliot Worthing, a media professional, was flying from Doha to Manchester with Qatar Airways when the flight was diverted to Muscat, in Oman, on Saturday morning after Qatar's airspace closed. Passengers learned of the attacks in Qatar only after landing. He said there was initial panic as people tried to work out whether Oman was safe, and that this was not a delayed flight but an attack. Passengers were taken to a hotel. With work on Monday, he expects to be stuck for several days, possibly a week or longer.
Jonny Escott, 30, has lived in Dubai for five years. He and his partner, Rebecca, were due to fly home on Emirates at 1.10pm from Newcastle. Check-in was not open when they arrived at the airport. Around noon, his sister-in-law, who works for Emirates, told them the flight was cancelled, and airport staff confirmed it five minutes later. Staff said two flights looked likely to go out on Monday, but Escott said nobody knew what would happen. The couple have gone to stay with family in Hartlepool. Of Dubai, he said everything was on shutdown, based on what they had been told, and that it was pretty scary.
In Doha, British journalist Rosie Murray-West is stranded with her husband, whom she joined at a work conference. She had been due to fly home early on Monday morning. She was at the Museum of Islamic Art when alarms began sounding on her phone. Everyone has been told to shelter, and she has been told only that she cannot fly. She told The Independent that people are calm and the streets quiet, but that you can hear missiles coming over and being intercepted, which she found disconcerting. It is Ramadan, she noted, so the streets are quiet until sunset anyway, making it hard to judge.
No one has given travellers a confirmed departure date. What happens next depends on whether the closed airspace reopens and how quickly airlines can clear the backlog of passengers now waiting in Dubai, Doha and Muscat.
Citações Notáveis
My biggest concern now is we just don't know when we're going to get out.— Martin Boreham, stranded in Dubai
You can hear the missiles coming over and being intercepted, which is quite disconcerting.— Rosie Murray-West, journalist stranded in Doha
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Leia o original em The Independent ↗
War & Conflict