Severe flight travel disruption is ongoing in the Middle East after air strikes forced the closure of major hubs, including Dubai, the world's busiest international airport. Waves of strikes by the US and Israel on Tehran and other cities, followed by retaliatory strikes targeting Gulf states, have led to the closure of airspace across the region.
America's biggest carriers have all cancelled scheduled flights, along with other major airlines such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and British Airways. According to aviation data firm Cirium, around 112,991 seats per week are normally flown from the US to the Middle East. Flightradar24 reports that airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar remains virtually empty, with around 4,000 flights a day cancelled.
Dubai Airports announced that limited flights would resume from the evening of Monday, March 2, and Emirates, flydubai and Etihad indicated they would restart some services. However, disruption is expected to continue for days or weeks as aircraft and crew are out of position. Passengers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to a full refund or rebooking at no extra charge, but compensation is not required by law if the disruption is outside the airline's control.
For those flying on non-American carriers, rights depend on the airline's conditions of carriage. Many flights are taking wide diversions to avoid Iranian or Iraqi airspace, adding to journey times and requiring refuelling stops. The situation remains fast-moving, and travellers are advised to check with their airlines for updates.
