Travelers stranded as Middle East conflict spreads; governments scramble to bring citizens home
LONDON (AP) — Governments scrambled Monday to help travelers get home after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down flights through the Middle East.
Tourists and business travelers found themselves stuck unexpectedly in hotels, airports and on cruise ships, with no word on when many airports would reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would resume. Governments told stranded citizens to shelter in place.
Shutdown airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha — including Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world — are important hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and the West to Asia. All three were directly hit by strikes.
Qatar Airways said Monday its flights remain suspended, with its next update planned for Tuesday morning while Jordan announced a partial closure of its airspace.
About 30,000 German tourists are currently stranded on cruise ships, in hotels or at closed airports in the Middle East and cannot get back home because of the conflict.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said late Sunday that a military evacuation was currently not possible because of the closed airspace.
He said that the government was looking into other options to help bring its citizens home and that everyone should follow advice from German travel agencies and local authorities.
The German Travel Association called on tourists to “remain at their booked hotels as a matter of urgency” and not “make their own way to the airport or to a neighboring country.”
Other governments made similar recommendations.
The Czech Republic is sending two planes to Egypt and Jordan to bring home Czech nationals, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said. One will pick up 79 Czechs in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheikh who who want to return from Israel. They are traveling from Israel to Egypt by bus. The other plane will evacuate Czechs from Amman, Jordan. Babiš said there are some 6,700 Czechs in the region.
Four more planes are heading to Muscat and Salalah in Oman to fly home Czech tourists.
In Asia, thousands of travelers were stranded on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali because international flights were cancelled.
Bali’s international airport said at least 15 flights, including eight departures and seven arrivals, on routes to Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi were cancelled as of Monday afternoon.
Air France canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh, while carriers from Air India to KLM suspended flights and issued advisories.
Airline data showed 3,197 departing passengers were affected by the disruptions, airport spokesperson Gede Eka Sandi Asmadi said.
U.S. airlines issued travel advisories and upended global transportation roiled the travel sector in financial markets early Monday, including the shares of airlines that fly globally. United, Delta and American all slid 5% to 6% and global hotel chains tumbled. Cruise lines like Carnival fell even harder.
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AP writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Karel Janicek in Prague, Sam Magdy in Cairo, and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.