For the third consecutive day, the Middle East remains a no-fly zone for most of the world, with hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded in hotels, airports, and aircraft as the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran shows no sign of relenting.
As of Monday, March 2, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates were among the nations that had announced at least partial closures of their airspace, forcing widespread flight suspensions, cancellations, and diversions. Flight tracking website Flightradar24 reported that more than 2,000 flights to and from seven key airports in the Gulf had been cancelled.
The shutdown airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha are critical hubs connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas to Asia. All three were directly struck during the conflict. Officials at Dubai International Airport reported four people injured, while Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi confirmed one person killed and seven others wounded in a drone strike. Strikes were also reported at Kuwait International Airport.
In Dubai, stranded travelers reported hearing fighter jets overhead and a blast when a missile struck the Fairmont Palm Hotel. With Emirates having suspended all operations, many travelers were unable to obtain updated flight information from airlines or tour operators. One American traveler, Louise Herrle, said she and her husband were sheltering in their hotel room after their Washington-bound flight was cancelled, with no confirmed rescheduling date.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium estimated that at least 90,000 passengers transit through Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi daily on Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad alone, a figure that does not include travelers flying directly to destinations in the region. Airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said the suspension of services at all three hubs would disrupt travel across all six populated continents.
Turkish Airlines cancelled flights to and from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria, and the UAE. Air France halted services to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai, and Riyadh until March 3. KLM suspended Tel Aviv flights for the remainder of its winter season and Dubai services until March 5. Lufthansa suspended Dubai flights until March 4 and services to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, and Tehran until March 8.
More than 2,800 flights were cancelled on Sunday to and from airports across the Middle East, including those that remained technically open in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. International airports in London, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangkok, Istanbul, and Paris each also recorded dozens of cancelled services as the ripple effects of the Gulf closures spread globally.
The UAE government stepped forward to cover food and accommodation costs for stranded passengers, with the General Civil Aviation Authority issuing instructions to hotels to extend the stays of affected travelers at no charge to them. More than 20,000 travelers had been assisted through the scheme by Monday morning. The U.S. State Department issued a worldwide caution alert, advising Americans to exercise increased vigilance and warning of potential travel disruptions from periodic airspace closures.
Traditional flight travel insurance policies, except those with “cancel for any reason” clauses, generally exclude acts of war, leaving many stranded travelers without financial recourse. Cancel-for-any-reason policies typically require 48 to 72 hours of advance notice of trip cancellation, a window most travelers caught in this crisis did not have.
Harteveldt offered an unsparing assessment of the outlook: “To be honest, if you haven’t left home, chances are you won’t be leaving home if you’re supposed to travel to or through these destinations for at least several days, if not longer. And if you are returning home, you will have to be very creative about how you get home.”
Travelers with existing bookings to or through the affected region are advised to contact their airline directly, monitor official government travel advisories, and avoid non-essential movement in areas where conflict is active.
