Gulf carriers resume some flights even as US-Israel strikes and Iran retaliation fuel travel chaos

LONDON (AP) — Several international airlines resumed a small number of flights from the United Arab Emirates on Monday, offering some relief for travelers caught up in airspace closures and other safety precautions as the U.S. and Israel bombarded Iran, and Iran struck back at targets across the Middle East.

Long-haul carriers Etihad Airways and Emirates, based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and budget carrier FlyDubai, said they would operate select flights from the country, where air traffic was suspended Saturday and defense systems have intercepted Iranian missiles and drones.

Dubai’s government told passengers to head to airports only if they were contacted directly during what it said would be a “limited resumption of operations.” More than 80% of the flights scheduled to and from Dubai and more than half of the flights to and from Abu Dhabi remained canceled, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

At least 15 Etihad flights took off from Abu Dhabi’s airport Monday to help evacuate passengers who have been stranded there, according to tracking service Flightradar24. The flights headed to a variety of destinations, including Islamabad, Paris, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Cairo and London. But regular commercial flights remained canceled.

Emirates said it would also fly limited flights beginning Monday evening, but it wasn’t immediately clear if those had begun. The airline previously said it was suspending flights until 3 p.m. local time Tuesday.

“We are accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority,” it said.

FlyDubai said it would operate four flights departing the city and another five arriving planes on Monday.

“We continue to work closely with the relevant authorities and stakeholders to ensure an efficient, gradual return to operations,” it said in an emailed statement. “The situation remains dynamic, and we continue to monitor closely and amend our schedule accordingly.”

With air travel severely limited throughout the Middle East, the conflict that started Saturday stranded travelers in multiple countries besides Iran and Israel. Tourists, business travelers and religious pilgrims found themselves stuck unexpectedly in hotels, airports and on cruise ships.

Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, and Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, are important hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and Asia. The three airports were all directly hit by Iranian strikes over the weekend. Along with people planning to head to or from the region, travelers who were passing through on multileg flights also found themselves stuck.

Indian technology entrepreneur Varun Krishnan was aboard a Qatar Airways flight on Saturday headed to Barcelona for a conference when it was forced to turn around. Now he’s one of the many travelers stuck in Doha.

The airline put him up in an hotel and was providing meals, but Krishnan said he was reconsidering his plans to attend the Mobile World Congress, a major telecom industry trade fair.

“At this point in time, I don’t think I’m in any mental kind of situation to go work from there,” he said. “I think I’ll probably take the flight back home, given an option. I don’t think going to Barcelona or MWC is on my mind anymore, given what we have gone through in the last two, three days here.”

Doha-based Qatar Airways said its flights remained suspended, with its next update planned for Tuesday morning. Jordan announced a partial closure of its airspace Monday, stretching the travel turmoil in the region.

Governments told stranded citizens to shelter in place while officials scrambled to find ways to get them home.

More than 58,000 Indonesians were stranded in Saudi Arabia, where they were visiting Islam’s holy sites of Mecca and Medina on an Umrah pilgrimage during Ramadan.

“It has become an urgent humanitarian and logistical issue,” said Ichsan Marsha, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, which was coordinating with Saudi authorities, airlines and Indonesian travel operators to arrange alternative routes or rescheduled flights.

Thousands of travelers also were stranded on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali because of international flight cancellations.

About 30,000 German tourists were stranded on cruise ships, in hotels or at closed airports in the Middle East, according to the German Foreign Ministry. The German government said it planned to send planes to Oman and Saudi Arabia to evacuate ill travelers, children and pregnant people.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday that his office was seeking to charter planes at taxpayer expense to get vulnerable people back home. For the other stranded tourists, he said the foreign office was working with airlines and other travel operators to figure out how to get people back to Germany safely.

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 said it was 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 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 were heading to Muscat and Salalah in Oman to fly home Czech tourists.

Britain was preparing for all options, including possible evacuation of Britons in the Middle East, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said.

“We are setting up the support systems,” Cooper told Sky News, when asked if Britain was preparing for an evacuation. “We’re working on every possible option.” More than 102,00 Britons in the region have registered their presence with the U.K. government since the conflict erupted on the weekend.

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.

The Gulf’s shimmering and globalized cities depend on a steady influx of flights carrying foreigners – both tourists and resident workers – and cargo to keep their economies humming. That’s fueled the growth of Gulf airline brands including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.

Those long-haul airlines and a handful of smaller carriers typically pack the skies over the Gulf and have turned their hubs into some of the busiest international airports in the world.

Dubai International Airport handled a record 95.2 million passengers last year, ensuring its status as the world’s busiest airport when measured by international travel. It’s second only to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport overall.

Schreck reported from Bangkok. AP writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Karel Janicek in Prague, Sam Magdy in Cairo, Mustakim Hasnath in London, and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.