Middle East Conflict Disrupts Air Travel as Over 20,000 Flights Cancelled, Thousands Evacuated

Global air travel has been severely disrupted following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, with aviation analytics firm Cirium reporting that more than 20,000 flights have been cancelled since Saturday.

According to the company, over 36,000 flights were originally scheduled to depart from or arrive in the region, but the escalating crisis—triggered after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran—forced airlines to suspend operations across several major hubs.

Although some airlines have begun cautiously resuming limited services from cities such as Dubai and Riyadh, the crisis has left tens of thousands of travellers stranded worldwide.

Passengers arriving in countries including Australia, France, Germany, India, Russia and Taiwan described days of uncertainty, sleepless nights and difficult journeys as they tried to escape the region.

One of them, Taiwanese student Max Lin, said he was enjoying a long layover in Dubai when the conflict suddenly escalated.

“I was riding a motorcycle on the beach when a friend messaged me asking if anything had happened where I was,” he said. “I checked online and realised there seemed to be a war, and my flight that night was cancelled.”

Lin eventually returned home aboard the first direct Emirates flight from Dubai to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport since the conflict began.

Another traveller, Fanny Wu, who had travelled to Dubai with her two children, said they heard explosions nearby when the air strikes started.

“Although Taiwan has always been close to war, we had never experienced anything like this,” she said.

Emergency Evacuations

Several countries have launched emergency evacuation efforts to rescue citizens stranded across the Middle East.

Authorities in Russia evacuated 117 people—including 54 children—via an emergency flight after they crossed the border from Iran into Azerbaijan by land.

Meanwhile, governments from France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and the United States organised special repatriation flights from countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Eighteen-year-old passenger Emmy Coutelier described the frightening experience of hearing an alarm at her hotel during the strikes before she was evacuated.

“We were told not to stay near the windows, so we went down to the basement,” she said after arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Spanish authorities also arranged a flight from Abu Dhabi that brought 175 passengers back to Madrid.

Many evacuees said they endured extreme exhaustion during the ordeal.

“We hadn’t slept for about three days,” one passenger said.

The U.S. State Department reported that more than 9,000 Americans had left the region since Saturday, including over 300 from Israel. The department has urged Americans across the Middle East—from Egypt eastward—to leave the region for safety.

Israel Gradually Reopens Airspace

As of Wednesday, data from Cirium showed that air traffic remained almost completely grounded in Qatar and Bahrain. Nearly three-quarters of flights in Israel were cancelled, while more than two-thirds of flights in the United Arab Emirates were affected.

Israel’s Transport Minister, Miri Regev, announced that the country would gradually reopen its airspace between Wednesday night and Thursday, depending on security conditions.

Officials said the first flights would focus on bringing Israeli citizens back home, with departures from the country still temporarily suspended.

According to Sharon Kedmi, Director General of the Israel Airports Authority, operations will resume cautiously with only one aircraft allowed per hour during the first 24 hours.