Hundreds of Brits are thought to nonetheless be stranded within the Center East
Strikes are persevering with in Tehran (Picture: Getty)
A journey skilled has issued three phrases of essential recommendation for folks stranded within the Center East following US and Israeli air strikes on Iran. Simon Calder made the remarks after a whole lot of hundreds of travellers discovered themselves caught in locations resembling Qatar and Abu Dhabi within the wake of the assaults.
Quite a few airways, together with British Airways, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, grounded flights following Iranian retaliatory strikes all through the area. When flights will resume regular service stays unclear, with hundreds of Britons believed to be stranded.
Talking on Radio 5 Dwell, Mr Calder had three key phrases he urged travellers to comply with: “For the time being, the most effective recommendation I’ve for anybody who’s caught in varied components of the world is: simply be affected person.”
The state of affairs shall be resolved – I hope, very a lot sooner somewhat than later,” he added. “What we’ve seen is the extraordinary sight of the large three of Center Jap hubs – Dubai Worldwide, Doha, and Abu Dhabi – all closing due to the retaliatory strikes from Iran. We now have by no means seen that. The very last thing of this scale we noticed on this space like that right here was the Covid pandemic.
“Take into account this. Greater than 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 passengers have been due (on Saturday) to fly to and thru Dubai Worldwide Airport alone. It’s larger than Heathrow Airport, handles extra passengers, and everyone seems to be determined to get the place they have to be.
“I’ve been chatting with individuals who have been about to take off, they’d the ‘boarding full’ announcement, and instantly the captain mentioned, ‘Sorry, airspace closed, we’re staying right here’. It took them three hours to get off the plane as a result of all of them needed to be processed by means of immigration, leaving them in a spot the place they actually did not wish to be. A lot of them have been simply off a earlier flight a couple of hours earlier than and have been ready to journey on to their last vacation spot of London Heathrow.”
It was subsequently confirmed that Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed within the strikes, casting severe doubt over the way forward for the Islamic Republic. The demise of Mr Khamenei, following a long time in energy, has triggered livid scenes throughout different components of the Center East and past, heightening the specter of potential regional instability.
Dubai Worldwide ranks because the world’s busiest airport, processing roughly 250,000 passengers day by day. Doha Airport in Qatar handles roughly 150,000 travellers every day, which means monumental journey chaos as each airports proceed to be affected.
As a consequence of reported missile assaults, British nationals in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates ought to instantly shelter in place.
Stay indoors in a safe location, keep away from all journey and comply with directions from the native authorities. pic.twitter.com/pjdFAQMMji
— International, Commonwealth & Improvement Workplace (@FCDOGovUK) February 28, 2026
Doha holds specific significance for British passengers flying to and from the Center East, Asia and the UK. Mr Calder went on to say: “Some persons are within the tough place of being stranded on the mistaken aspect, and they’re attempting to get again to the UK however discovering that air passenger rights guidelines – that are nice when you find yourself flying from Europe – do not work the identical manner when you find yourself flying to Europe on a non-UK or non-EU airline.
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“They’ll mainly simply say, ‘effectively, good luck, we’ll try to get you there in per week or you possibly can take a refund’. It is actually, actually tough Airways like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, they don’t seem to be legally obliged to search out resort lodging for all these stranded passengers and get them again as quickly as attainable however hopefully they may achieve this.
“The opposite downside for folks whose flights have been cancelled, when flights resume, they go to the again of the queue. If flights resume on Monday, anyone who has a flight booked on Monday will fly on Monday, and folks whose flights have been cancelled over the weekend – and we’re speaking a whole lot of hundreds now – they’re going to be discovering that they’re in the back of the queue, scrabbling for no matter accessible seats there are.”
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