Crisis in the Middle East: What Travelers Need to Know Following Iran Strikes

By Jeri Clausing

In the aftermath of a major combat operation in Iran, airspace and airport closures resulted in thousands of flights being canceled, leaving travelers around the world stranded.

Military strikes across the Middle East have resulted in major airport and airspace closures, stranding tens of thousands of passengers and creating travel chaos that one expert said would impact all corners of the globe.

The U.S. State Department on Saturday issued a “Worldwide Caution” security alert, advising “Americans worldwide to exercise increased caution,” and noting that Americans “may experience travel disruptions due to periodic airspace closures.” The State Department recommends that U.S. travelers follow the alerts and guidance being issued by U.S. embassies or consulates in the countries they are traveling in.

Nearly 2,000 flights to and from destinations throughout the Middle East were canceled Saturday and more than 3,400 canceled Sunday, according to flight-tracking services FlightRadar24 and Cirium, as Iran continued retaliatory strikes in the region following Saturday’s attacks by the U.S. and Israel and the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Two luxury hotels in Dubai were reportedly hit by retaliatory strikes. According to news reports from the region, a fire broke out at Fairmont The Palm, injuring four people. Additionally, debris from a drone strike hit the iconic Jumeirah Burj Al Arab hotel.

Global airports that remained closed as of press time included Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); Doha, Qatar; and Tel Aviv in Israel. Based on FlightRadar24’s live flight tracking, airspace closures remain over Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, with very limited service in nearby countries. On Sunday, March 1, Emirates—one of the largest airlines in the Middle East and a flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates—stated that “due to multiple regional airspace closures, Emirates has temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai.”

One person was reported killed and four injured in a drone strike on the Abu Dhabi airport, and seven more were injured in a strike on the Dubai International Airport, according to the Associated Press. Kuwait’s airport was also targeted.

The Dubai International Airport is one of the world’s busiest in terms of international passenger numbers, nearly half of which are connecting fliers. On its website, the Dubai airport said operations were suspended indefinitely, while Doha’s Hamad International Airport in Qatar said flights were halted until at least Monday as missiles and drones continued to fly across the region.

Strife in the Middle East will have ripple effects on global travel

“The temporary closing of major airline hubs in Qatar and UAE will be felt across all six populated continents,” Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, told Afar.

“Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar Airways connect their home hub airports with hundreds of destinations around the world,” Harteveldt added “Emirates, the largest of the three, operates the largest international hub of any airline. The suspension of airline service at Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Dubai will not only disrupt travel to and from those cities, but will make it difficult for people in North America to travel to and from the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and Asia/Pacific. It will also disrupt travel for people living in those regions to Europe and the Americas.”

Flights that cross over the region could also be affected if rerouting to avoid closed airspace adds too much time to the journey, Harteveldt said. Having to reroute could result in the flight going beyond a plane’s maximum range, which could force refueling stops and crew changes that could make a flight impractical and/or too expensive to operate.

According to a report from the Dubai news radio station Dubai Eye, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority was working to provide temporary accommodations and meals to stranded passengers. The report said that more than 20,000 travelers had been helped, and that the agency would cover all the expenses, a helpful move since traditional flight travel insurance—except for “Cancel for Any Reason” (CFAR) policies—generally exclude acts of war. And cancel for any reason policies usually require 48 to 72 hours notice of trip cancellation.

Back in the United States, even domestic travelers could see delays and ripple effects due to the upheaval in the Middle East.

“Passengers should be prepared for heightened airport security, even if they have TSA PreCheck, for the next few days,” Harteveldt said. “That’s fairly typical when military attacks occur. TSA screening officers—who, by the way, aren’t being paid right now due to the funding dispute about DHS’s budget—may scrutinize your luggage more thoroughly as it goes through the screening machines. Sensitivity levels on metal detectors may also be elevated.”

He advised travelers to give themselves extra time to go through security, and to help the TSA by packing neatly and avoiding overpacking carry-on and personal items.

Harteveldt also warned that if the bombing continues, “there is also a risk that there could be attacks by groups sympathetic to the Iranian government in cities outside the Middle East, which may cause problems for people traveling to or through those cities.”

“Travelers need to be prepared for nearly everything to go sideways,” he said.