Limited flights from UAE begin as governments seek to extract citizens from Middle East

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LONDON (AP) — Travelers stranded by a widening war began departing the United Arab Emirates aboard a small number of evacuation flights Monday, even as most commercial air traffic across the Middle East remained suspended.

The limited flights out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi took place as the U.S. State Department urged its own citizens in 13 countries, including UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and Oman, to “depart now via commercial means due to serious safety risks.” Sweeping airspace closures and flight cancellations across the region left many fewer options for heeding the advice.

Since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks on Israel and Gulf states started Saturday, commercial flights have been halted or heavily restricted, leaving tourists, business travelers, migrant workers and religious pilgrims stuck in hotels, airports and aboard cruise ships.

Airspace remained closed Monday over Iran, Iraq and Israel. Jordan instituted a temporary closure beginning Monday afternoon. Other countries in the Gulf — including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — had partial or temporary closures that could be extended, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24.

The service showed that after reports of Riyadh explosions from a drone, flights into King Khalid International Airport near Riyadh were holding or turning back.

About 13,000 of the roughly 32,000 flights scheduled into and out of the Middle East since Saturday have been canceled, aviation analytics firm Cirium said.

Airlines operating evacuation flights are likely doing so with government backing, and the carriers’ home countries may be assuming part of the financial risk, said Henry Harteveldt, president of travel market research firm Atmosphere Research Group.

“Airlines aren’t going to resume operations until they are fully confident that there is a zero — or as close as possible to zero — risk that their aircraft will be attacked,” Harteveldt said.

Long-haul carriers Etihad Airways and Emirates, based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, along with budget carrier FlyDubai, said Monday they would operate limited flights from the country, where air defense systems were deployed to intercept Iranian missiles and drones.

At least 16 Etihad flights left Abu Dhabi during a three-hour window Monday, according to Flightradar24, heading to destinations including Islamabad, Paris, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Moscow and London. The airline’s website, however, said all its regularly scheduled commercial flights remained suspended until Wednesday afternoon.

Emirates said customers with earlier bookings would get priority for seats aboard the limited flights it planned to operate starting Monday evening. FlyDubai said it would operate four outbound flights and five inbound. Dubai Airports, the authority that runs the city's two airports, showed a larger number of flights on Tuesday but urged passengers to go to airports only if their airline had notified them with confirmation since operations remained curtailed.

The disruptions have been far-reaching because Gulf airports serve as critical global transit hubs linking Europe, Africa and Asia. Dubai International Airport alone handled a record 95.2 million passengers last year, making it the world’s busiest airport when measured by international travel.

Leela Rao, a 29-year-old law student at Georgetown University in Washington, made it onto one of Monday’s Etihad flights. She learned of the airstrikes while waiting to make a connection in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and spent hours at the airport following news updates, hearing explosions and receiving shelter-in-place alerts before Etihad arranged a hotel stay in Dubai.

“I am feeling so, so, so grateful,” Rao said by text message after arriving in Delhi in time for a friend’s wedding. “Everyone clapped when we landed.”

The Association of Tennis Professionals said former U.S. Open tennis champion Daniil Medvedev was among a small number of players and staff it was helping leave Dubai.

Scotland resident Faizan Khalid, his wife and their 6-month-old daughter were stranded Saturday in Lahore, Pakistan, after their flight home that included a connection in Dubai was canceled. They were booked on a new flight for Wednesday that also has a Dubai stop. Khalid said he's growing concerned as he and his wife's supply of baby formula runs low.

“We just want to get home safely,” he said.

Hen Mazzig, a 35-year-old writer from London, got stuck in Tel Aviv after the war erupted.

“I really am counting my blessings,” Mazzig said as he scrambled to rearrange his plans. “It's inconvenient, but it's so minor compared to how big this is.”

Governments were scrambling to organize aid, evacuations and repatriation flights for their citizens.

Israel’s flag carrier, El Al, said it was preparing a massive “recovery operation” to bring stranded passengers home once Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv reopens. Customers booked on El Al and its subsidiary, Sundor, will not be charged for seats on the flights, which are expected to operate initially from cities including New York, London, Paris, Rome and Los Angeles.

The U.S. said Americans who needed help arranging commercial transportation should contact the State Department. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the the situation on the ground “may remain challenging for some time” but that the U.K. government was “looking at all options to support our people.”

The Philippines upgraded its travel advisory for the UAE on Monday, placing it — along with Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — at a level that automatically triggers a deployment ban on newly hired Filipino workers.

Indonesia said more than 58,000 of its citizens were stranded in Saudi Arabia, where they had been visiting Islam's holy sites during Ramadan.

“It has become an urgent humanitarian and logistical issue,” said Ichsan Marsha, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. Thousands of travelers also were stranded on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali because of international flight cancellations.

Germany's Foreign Ministry said about 30,000 German tourists were stranded across the Middle East. The government said it plans to send aircraft to Oman and Saudi Arabia to evacuate ill travelers, children and pregnant people, while working with airlines to assist others where possible.

The Czech Republic said it was sending planes to Egypt, Jordan and Oman to bring home citizens from Israel and surrounding countries. Britain said it was preparing for various options, including a possible evacuation, as more than 102,000 people have registered their presence in the region.

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Schreck reported from Bangkok and Yamat reported from Las Vegas. Contributing to this report were AP writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin; Karel Janicek in Prague; Sam Magdy in Cairo; Mustakim Hasnath in London; Niniek Karmini in Jakarta; Matt Sedensky in New York; Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank; and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska.