Air travel across the world was largely disrupted on Sunday, a second day of chaos sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran, with thousands of flights canceled and thousands of passengers stranded.
Airports in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, the world’s busiest terminals, remained closed, while airlines across the Middle East canceled almost all their flights on Sunday. Some residents of Dubai sought to leave the city or seek shelter due to loud air noise at night, while businesses across the emirate have asked employees to work remotely.
Iranian missiles and drones targeted the airports of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City and Bahrain’s Manama on Saturday and early Sunday, causing limited damage to terminal facilities. One person was killed and seven were injured in the attack on Zayed International in Abu Dhabi.
The airspace of Qatar, Iran and Iraq remained closed on Sunday, with other long-haul aircraft avoiding the area altogether.
Qatar Airways, which operates from Doha, said it would resume operations “after the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announced the safe reopening of Qatari airspace”.
Emirates, which operates from Dubai, said it had suspended all flights until 3pm UAE time (11am UK time) on Monday. “Passengers can rebook for another flight to your desired destination up to 20 days from your original date of travel,” it said.
International airlines from British Airways to Air France canceled flights in the region on Sunday. Nearly 2,000 flights were canceled on Saturday, according to data group Cirium. It said around 4,000 flights were scheduled for Sunday, of which more than 1,500 had been canceled as of 1pm UK time.
The UK Foreign Office advised against “all but essential travel” to the United Arab Emirates, and asked any British nationals visiting the entire region, including Israel, to register their presence.
Companies are struggling to assess the fallout and protect their employees. Consumer group Reckitt has suspended business travel to the Middle East and issued a work-from-home notice to all employees in the region. It has also temporarily closed its Bahrain manufacturing site.
JPMorgan has asked employees to work remotely until at least Wednesday, while Citi has asked most employees to do so until further notice. UAE authorities have asked businesses to ask employees to work from home.
Middle Eastern hubs are a major travel artery, with millions of passengers traveling between Asia and Europe or the Americas, using the hubs for connecting flights.
Gulf carriers have built business models on connecting passengers to the region, while major airports are undergoing significant expansion plans in anticipation of strong travel growth through the region in the coming decades.
While airlines have had to book passengers on alternative routes, gridlock in the global air system – and a lack of alternative capacity – meant thousands of people were left stranded on Sunday. The UAE Civil Aviation Authority said it would cover the costs of accommodation and food for stranded passengers.
Even if airspace reopens, the effects of the chaos will take days to wear off, as airline networks will be disrupted by planes and crew being in the wrong places.
Anyone trying to leave the Middle East, especially Dubai, which has become a thriving hub for expatriates, has few options, as major airports in the region are closed.
Some Dubai residents have headed to the border with Oman in hopes of getting out of the country. While most roads were quieter than usual, the roads leading to the Sultanate, where there has been only one attack so far, were busy.
Eddy, a British expatriate living in Dubai, said he took his family to the border city of Hatta on Sunday, where he found UAE residents “trying to wait… trying to get away from the main cities”.
He said some residents spent the night in vehicles sitting in car parks for safety. “Most of us were trying to set up barricades in the most interior parts of buildings, whether it was a bathroom or some isolated area,” he added. People in the city are on “super high alert”.
Others have already crossed the border to Oman, where hotels are busier than usual with Dubai residents.
Following a drone attack on the Fairmont Hotel on the man-made Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, some guests at a neighboring hotel had to spend the night on makeshift beds in the basement. They were moving to another hotel on the outskirts of town, which they felt would be safer.
Supermarkets were packed on Sunday as people came out of their homes to stock up on supplies. Residents said supplies of basics like meat, dairy and rice were running low. Toilet paper was also in short supply, in scenes reminiscent of the Covid pandemic.
Megan, another Dubai-based British expatriate, said the alert came on her mobile phone at 12.30 pm today and again at 8 am. He described the city as quiet today, with few cars and half-empty supermarket shelves, after the initial “wave of terror”.
Despite schools being closed for three days and companies asking employees to work from home, he believes “things will recover quickly”.
“There is certainly a sense of confidence in the government’s ability to protect people from any aerial threat and this is not a completely unexpected scenario after what happened in other parts of the Gulf last year,” he said.
On a lighter note, another international resident of Dubai commented that parking was “very easy” on a Sunday in the normally crowded city.
A long-time resident of the United Arab Emirates said recreational areas, including hotel pools and some areas of beaches, had been closed.
The US Embassy in Bahrain advises Americans to avoid hotels
In Manama he said they could be targets of future attacks.
A security alert posted on Twitter said it was following reports that the Crowne Plaza hotel in Manama was attacked on Sunday. Video on social media shows the alleged damage
Popular hotels.
Antonio Bueno, a dual US-Brazilian citizen, is stranded in Dubai after a work and leisure trip. From his hotel he saw plumes of smoke and heard loud noises. At one point guests were sent to the basement for shelter.
The 36-year-old software consultant is now arranging for a driver to take him to the border with Oman, which he will cross on foot, where cabs are waiting to pick up passengers.
“I’ll take a taxi to Muscat. Apparently there are flights to Asia and the Horn of Africa from this region,” he said.
Additional reporting by Michael Pooler, Madeleine Speed ​​and Elesheva Kissin
