The eruption of conflict in the Middle East has plunged international travellers into chaos, with major airports and airlines in the region suspending services.<\/p>\n
Flights from Australia bound for the region turned back when countries closed their skies to travel in the hours after the US struck Iran and a wave of retaliatory attacks began.<\/p>\n
Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial closures of their skies.<\/p>\n
Australian airlines were monitoring the situation in the Middle East, and Virgin Australia confirmed four Qatar Airways flights bound for Doha were heading back to Australia after turning around.<\/p>\n
“Flights that have left Doha and are travelling to Australia are continuing as scheduled,” a Virgin spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Flight-tracking website FlightAware showed more than 11,200 flights had been delayed globally and more than 1,000 cancelled worldwide as of 11:30pm AEDT, while airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel and Bahrain was virtually empty on Saturday, maps by flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed.<\/p>\n
Among nations closing their airspace and suspending flights were major international transit hubs connecting Australian travellers with Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n
Qatar Airways suspended all flights from its capital Doha, while Dubai Airports said all flight operations at Dubai International and Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International were suspended until further notice.<\/p>\n
Read more about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran:<\/p>\n
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport at this time and to contact their respective airlines directly for the latest updates regarding their flights,” the government of Dubai’s media office posted on X.<\/p>\n
“We appreciate the cooperation of our guests. Further updates will be provided as we continue to monitor the situation.”<\/p>\n
‘Thousands’ stranded in Doha’s airport<\/p>\n
One Australian traveller and her two children are stranded in Doha’s giant Hamad International Airport after their flight to Italy was turned back on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Penni Milton, from Canberra, described long queues of travellers waiting for more information as the conflict stopped international travel throughout the region.<\/p>\n
She said it was unclear what would happen next.<\/p>\n
“There’s thousands of people here \u2026 the backlog is going to be pretty serious,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Milton was travelling to Europe, via a layover in Doha, with her children Angus, 17, and Matilda, 19, to see her husband and Paralympic skier Michael Milton at the upcoming Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n
When the plane started circling near Kuwait on Saturday, she thought something must be wrong.<\/p>\n
The pilot later announced that Iraq’s airspace had closed and the plane turned back to Doha, where it sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes and passengers were unaware of the conflict that had broken out.<\/p>\n
“There’s no Wi-Fi on the plane, so until we got close enough to the terminal for people to get online, nobody knew what had happened,” Ms Milton said.<\/p>\n
“The plan is to stay here, but there’s really no information coming out of the airline.”<\/p>\n
Video from Dubai Airport also showed huge crowds of people impacted by flight cancellations and airspace closures.<\/p>\n
International carriers suspend flights<\/p>\n
Iranian missiles hit capital cities around the Gulf region, and witnesses reported seeing warplanes and projectiles streaking through the skies.<\/p>\n
The European Union’s aviation regulator recommended that its airlines stay out of the airspace affected by the military intervention.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, other international airlines connecting to the region said they had suspended flights to the Middle East.<\/p>\n