Travel disruption across the Gulf region has entered its fifth day, with thousands of passengers still stranded and airlines operating only limited flights out of major hubs like Dubai and Abu Dhabi amid continued regional conflict and widespread airspace closures.
The situation stems from escalating hostilities involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have triggered airspace shutdowns across much of the Gulf and forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights.
After days of near-total shutdowns, a very limited number of 'exceptional' flights have begun departing from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, offering a small measure of reprieve to travellers stranded in the cities.
As of early Thursday, some Emirates services had taken off from Dubai to destinations including Sydney, Amsterdam, Toronto and Mumbai, according to flight monitoring data — but the vast majority of scheduled flights remain cancelled. At the same time, Etihad Airways has been operating a restricted number of repositioning and repatriation flights under strict safety approvals.
The General Civil Aviation Authority of the UAE has authorised flights at a limited pace through designated emergency air corridors, currently operating at around 48 flights, with plans to scale up to roughly 80 flights a day, transporting an estimated 27,000 passengers once fully expanded.
Despite these efforts, normal flight schedules remain largely suspended, with airlines prioritising passengers with confirmed bookings and repatriation needs. Both Emirates and Etihad have urged passengers not to travel to airports unless they hold a confirmed flight ticket or have been notified by the airline, warning that only ticketed travellers will be permitted into terminals as part of crowd-control measures.
Some travellers are undertaking precarious journeys out of the Gulf by heading to airports in Saudi Arabia or Oman, where air traffic remains comparatively less restricted.
“With the airspace effectively cut off, passengers are unable to reach family, work or school, and are now rerouting via Saudi Arabia, Oman or other neighbouring countries where airspace remains open,” one travel industry analyst told media.
Global repatriation efforts underway
Governments around the world are scrambling to evacuate their citizens from the region. The United States has said that more than 9,000 Americans have been brought home through Operation Epic Fury, a coordinated effort using chartered and commercial flights. US citizens in the Middle East have been urged to register with the State Department for assistance and offered travel options as capacity increases.
Meanwhile, Air India said it is deploying a larger Boeing 777 on Thursday flying on Mumbai-Dubai-Delhi route to help repatriate stranded nationals.
