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Air travel across the world remained heavily disrupted on Sunday, with thousands of flights cancelled and tens of thousands of travellers left stranded on a second day of chaos sparked by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Airports in Dubai, the world’s busiest terminal, and Doha remained closed while airlines across the Middle East cancelled almost all of their flights on Sunday.
Iranian missiles and drones on Saturday and early Sunday targeted the airports of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City and Manama in Bahrain, causing limited damage to terminal facilities. One person died and seven were injured in the attack on Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International.
Airspace across Qatar, Iran and Iraq remained closed on Sunday, with other long-haul aircraft avoiding the region entirely.
Qatar Airways, which operates out of Doha, said it “will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces 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 on another flight to your intended destination up to 20 days from your original date of travel”, it said.
International airlines, from British Airways to Air France, cancelled flights into the region on Sunday. Close to 2,000 flights were cancelled on Saturday, according to data group Cirium. Some 4,000 flights were scheduled for Sunday, it said, of which more than 700 had been cancelled by Saturday night.
The Middle Eastern hubs are a major travel artery, with millions of passengers travelling between Asia and Europe or America using the centres for connecting flights.
The Gulf carriers have built business models on connecting passengers in the region, while the major airports are undergoing significant expansion plans in anticipation of strong travel growth through the region in the decades ahead.
While airlines have to book passengers on alternative routes, the gridlock in the global air system — and the lack of alternative capacity — means that tens of thousands were left stranded on Sunday.
Even if airspace reopens, the ripple effects of the chaos will take days to clear, with airline networks disrupted by planes and crews being in the wrong locations.
Anyone trying to leave the Middle East, particularly Dubai, which has become a thriving centre for expatriates, also faces few options, with the region’s major airports closed.
The US embassy in Bahrain has advised Americans to avoid hotels
in Manama, saying they could be targets for future attacks.
In a security alert posted on X it said it was tracking reports that the Crowne Plaza hotel in Manama had been struck earlier on Sunday. Videos on social media have shown purported damage to the
popular hotel.