As Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Saturday and Iran struck back on Gulf states and Israel, the resulting airspace closures and intensifying airstrikes left travelers across the Middle East hunting for ways to get out. Governments began coordinating repatriation flights, chartering jets and rerouting departures through third countries where aircraft could land and take off, with Oman, Egypt and Saudi Arabia cited as key exit points.
Explosions in the sky turned a quick Dubai visit for Cory McKane into a multi-day search for a way out of the United Arab Emirates. With few options, McKane and friends drove to the Oman border, where taxi drivers were charging as much as $650 to reach Muscat International Airport. The trip took about 10 hours, but he secured a last-minute flight to India, arriving Wednesday exhausted but relieved.
France reported that a plane carrying French citizens from Oman and then Egypt landed in Paris early Wednesday, the first of several expected repatriation flights organized by France. Eleonore Caroit, the minister responsible for French nationals abroad, said about 100 seats on France’s first evacuation flight were reserved for vulnerable passengers, including families with children, older people and those with medical conditions. Caroit said two more flights were expected Wednesday: a military aircraft carrying 180 French citizens from Abu Dhabi and a charter bringing 205 people from Israel.
The U.S. response was similarly focused on bringing citizens home through limited routes. The U.S. State Department said 18,000 Americans have returned safely, including 8,500 on Tuesday. President Donald Trump’s top spokeswoman, Karolyn Leavitt, pushed back on Wednesday against criticism that the administration had not done enough, insisting “there have been plans in place” and adding that a department hotline message advising callers not to rely on U.S. government assistance had been corrected.
Mexico reported additional evacuations. President Claudia Sheinbaum said nearly 280 Mexican citizens had been evacuated. In Israel, around 15,000 people had left through land crossings into Jordan and Egypt, and Israel’s Ministry of Tourism said it was running buses to the southern border with Egypt to transport tourists.
Britain said it would use charter flights as commercial service narrowed. The British Foreign Office said more than 130,000 British nationals in the Middle East had registered their presence with the government since Saturday, though officials said not all are trying to leave. Officials said a charter flight would depart Oman late Wednesday to bring back some of the thousands of U.K. nationals in the Gulf.
Other countries described similar efforts. Ireland’s foreign minister said Emirates would operate a flight from Dubai to Dublin on Wednesday, and said a charter flight was also planned to evacuate 280 people from Oman in the coming days. Officials said an estimated 22,000 to 23,000 Irish citizens were in the Middle East. Norway said it was sending an “emergency team” to Dubai to reinforce an embassy staff helping about 1,500 Norwegians registered in the city.
On the ground, airlines and travelers both confronted the same constraints. Airspace closures and restrictions remained in place Wednesday across much of the Middle East, and notices from Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria said no-fly zones would last until at least early next week. The United Arab Emirates’ airspace was partially closed, Saudi Arabia continued partial route restrictions near its border with Iraq and along the Persian Gulf, and Israel prepared for a phased reopening that would allow incoming returning citizens starting early Thursday. In addition, Jordan lifted its previous nighttime flight ban, restoring 24-hour operations.
Aviation disruptions continued to cascade into cancellations. Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said more than 23,000 of the roughly 44,000 flights scheduled to fly to or from the Middle East between the start of the war and Thursday had been canceled as of Thursday. FlightAware reported more than 2,400 flight cancellations worldwide on Wednesday, down from about 3,150 on Monday. Even with limited commercial flights resuming, seats filled quickly, and travelers faced the choice of waiting for scarce availability or trying to secure seats via alternative routes and government-organized travel.
Commercial options varied by airline, with some service gaps persisting. British Airways said flights scheduled to depart Muscat through Saturday were fully booked and that it would add service “if we are able.” Etihad Airways and Emirates said their commercial flights were still suspended due to regional airspace closures, though both airlines operated a small number of repatriation and cargo flights.
In Italy, Fabio Falasca described how quickly the evacuation race was unfolding for individuals caught in the shutdown. Falasca, stranded in Dubai with a friend when the conflict erupted over the weekend, spent Saturday night sleeping in an underground parking lot. After staying in constant contact with the Italian Foreign Ministry’s traveler platform, he learned he could take a bus to Oman and then fly home to Italy, leaving Dubai by bus on Tuesday and catching a flight from Oman to return home. He said, “I can’t wait to get home and not be afraid of what’s outside,” adding, “My only thought is to get home.”
While governments ramped up evacuation flights and land routes, the AP reported that many of the aviation notices governing closures allowed authorities to reopen or restrict portions of airspace on short notice, meaning schedules could change quickly as the conflict unfolded.