Hundreds of thousands of passengers remain stranded as key air hubs in the Middle East remain closed, amid the fallout from US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Thousands more flights were cancelled on Monday, continuing the turmoil in global air travel that has led to the worst travel chaos since the Covid pandemic.
Gulf airports and airlines suspended normal operations until at least 10:00 GMT on Tuesday, although a limited number of special services were due to depart from the UAE on Monday evening. Major hubs, including Dubai International Airport – the world’s busiest international hub – shut for a third consecutive day. According to analysts Cirium, almost 1,700 flights to the Middle East had been cancelled by Monday morning, though this figure is artificially low due to limited data from Iran and the UAE.
Emirates and Etihad Airways said flights to and from their hubs would not operate until late Tuesday morning, while Qatar Airways suspended operations as long as Qatari airspace remains closed. Emirates and Etihad were poised to resume selected flights on Monday evening, offering hope that wider travel could resume. Airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar remained virtually empty, according to Flightradar24.
The disruption has spread beyond the Middle East. EasyJet cancelled return services between Cyprus and the UK after a drone hit the RAF base in Akrotiri, and British Airways cancelled its Monday Larnaca service. Virgin Atlantic said avoiding Iraqi airspace was affecting flight times to Asia and cancelled Dubai flights from London until Wednesday. Air India cancelled flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar to major cities in Europe and North America.
Airline and travel share prices fell sharply, with Tui down 9% and British Airways owner IAG down 5%. Donald Trump indicated that US military action could last another four weeks. Some carriers are offering refunds or free changes for those due to travel in coming weeks. Meanwhile, the wealthy are turning to private jets, with costs from Riyadh to Europe up to $350,000.
