Strikes cause global travel disruptions
Several airlines were forced to suspend flights to and from the Middle East, following United States-Israel coordinated strikes on Iran on Saturday, resulting in global travel mayhem.
Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates announced closure of their airspace, leaving thousands of travelers stranded.
Israel said it launched another wave of strikes on Iran on Sunday, while loud blasts were heard for a second day near Dubai and over Doha after Iran launched retaliatory air attacks on the neighboring Gulf states.
Dubai International Airport sustained damage during Iran's attacks, while airports in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait were also hit. Thousands of flights have been affected across the Middle East, according to data on flight-tracking platform FlightAware.
The UAE's national carrier, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, said in a post on X on Sunday that its operations and all flights to and from Abu Dhabi have been suspended until 2 pm on Monday. Another flag carrier, Emirates, also temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai until 3 pm on Monday.
China's Foreign Ministry on Sunday advised Chinese citizens to closely monitor developments and refrain from traveling to countries and regions surrounding Iran that have been affected by military strikes.
There have been reports of injuries to Chinese citizens, and a number of travelers are currently stranded in the affected areas, the ministry said.
It urged Chinese citizens already in the relevant countries and regions to take safety precautions and avoid sensitive locations such as military facilities and sites of demonstrations or gatherings.
In case of emergency, they are advised to call the police immediately and contact local Chinese diplomatic missions for assistance.
Qatar Airways said it will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace. A further update will be provided at 9 am on Monday, it said.
The effect is expected to last for several days, creating ripple effects across the world as airports scramble to clear hundreds of backlogs caused by flight cancellations and diversions with affected governments prioritizing passengers' and civilians' safety.
Dubai and neighboring Doha sit at the crossroads of east-west air travel, funneling long-haul traffic between Europe and Asia through tightly scheduled networks of connecting flights. With those hubs idle, aircraft and crews remained stranded out of position, disrupting airline schedules worldwide.
"It's the sheer volume of people and the complexity," said John Strickland, an aviation analyst based in the United Kingdom.
"You will have hundreds of thousands of people being stuck in wrong parts of the world without any certainty as to when they can move," Strickland told Reuters. "It is not only customers; it is the crews and aircraft all over place."
Major Gulf airlines, such as Emirates and Qatar Airways, are also among the world's biggest cargo operators, he added.
Delayed or canceled
As of Sunday morning, more than 700 flights in the Middle East had been canceled, the UAE's Khaleej Times reported, citing aviation analytics firm Cirium.
FlightAware said more than 19,000 flights had been delayed globally and more than 2,600 canceled as of Sunday.
Other airlines that have diverted or canceled their flights on Saturday and Sunday include Flydubai, IndiGo, British Airways, Iran Aseman Airlines, Iraqi Airways, Kuwait Airways, Royal Jordanian, Turkish Airlines, and Philippine Airlines.
Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation Sameh El-Hefny has directed that a state of maximum readiness be implemented at Cairo International Airport and that Cairo was ready to receive diverted flights. EgyptAir has suspended flights to at least 13 Arab cities.
From Europe, Air France announced it had canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh. Dutch airline KLM also halted flights between Amsterdam and Tel Aviv, as well as Germany's Lufthansa.
At Charles de Gaulle airport, Thai-bound traveler Roman Simon said his onward flight via Doha was canceled. "Now, we're trying to find a solution to still make our trip to Thailand," he told Reuters.
Reuters contributed to this story.
