Doha and Dubai, March 2 - In a low-rise hotel close to Doha’s airport, clusters of travellers have converged in the lobby wearing identical imitation Adidas T-shirts purchased at nearby shops, and trading tips on where to find underwear and laundry facilities. Erika Macikova, a 49-year-old winemaker from Slovakia, described the matching shirts as "our uniform" after she was evacuated to the hotel when flights were disrupted. Macikova was returning from an ayurvedic retreat in Sri Lanka; her luggage remains at the airport and she is among hundreds accommodated at the hotel.
The dislocation stretches across the Gulf and beyond, with tens of thousands of people entering a third day of uncertainty after an escalation in conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran disrupted air traffic and led to the closure of major hubs, including Dubai - one of the world's busiest international airports.
Officials and travellers describe the situation as the biggest upheaval to global air travel since the COVID-19 pandemic. A large share of those affected were in transit - changing planes at regional hubs that serve as key bridges between Europe and Asia. Dubai, which handles more than 1,000 flights a day, together with nearby Doha and Abu Dhabi, funnels tightly scheduled long-haul connections and so the suspension of services has had an outsized effect on international itineraries.
The ripple effects extend well beyond the Gulf. Reports indicate passengers have been left stranded in destinations including Bali, Kathmandu and Frankfurt as airlines cancel services and reroute or suspend operations. The UAE's civil aviation authority reported assisting about 20,200 travellers on Saturday, and data compiled by aviation trackers show at least 4,000 flights were cancelled over a three-day period.
For many who arrived in the region thinking they would make a simple connection, the reality has been sudden and disorienting. James Gaskin, a 53-year-old procurement manager from northern England, spent a morning in his Dubai hotel room hand-washing underwear and novelty socks after his onward flight to Britain was cancelled. He had been in India for work for a week and was taken to a local hotel with hundreds of other passengers.
Gaskin said he had little sense of the scale of disruption when he landed. "A lady came to the gate and just stood on a chair and made an announcement that everyone’s got to leave the airport. All very calm and orderly," he recalled, adding that he queued for six hours in the airport before being cleared out. Still, he said the baggage hall later "descended into chaos," with passengers removing bags from carousels to retrieve their own belongings. He also described hearing "quite a few bangs" as the airport was hit, an experience that made the situation feel more immediate. "The general feeling is, the longer it goes on, the more edgy people are getting," he said.
Hotels near airports across the region have become temporary hubs of information-sharing and coping strategies. Stranded travellers have set up WhatsApp groups and gather in lobbies to play games, watch sports or simply pass the time. They exchange practical tips on how to navigate airline helplines, where to find washing machines, how to recover luggage and whether pooling resources to attempt an overland departure makes sense. Others head to nearby shopping malls to buy snacks.
Many are trying to maintain routines that offer a sense of control despite the uncertainty. Macikova said she preferred to remain inside the hotel for safety and was passing time by reading a romantic novel. Gaskin received streaming service logins from his wife but found little appetite for watching them amid the disruption.
For some, the daylight hours offer a respite from anxiety that intensifies at night. British travellers Julie Hardy and Francis McKay, who had been on a two-week tour of southern India, were staying at the same low-rise Doha hotel and took a taxi on Sunday to a nearby mall to buy medication, cheese and crackers and to have lunch - an outing they described as enjoyable. But the evenings are more fraught. Hardy said that on Saturday night two alarms sounded on her phone, prompting her to rush to the hotel lobby in her nightie - an action that drew no surprise from fellow guests. "I’m very reluctant to go to bed up here," she said. "I would rather be downstairs for as long as possible ... I can’t relax, because I think something’s going to happen in the night and I’m going to have to get up quickly and evacuate." McKay echoed that unease and said the uncertainty left her anxious about whether she would see her family again. "It’s the unknown, and I’ve never been in a war zone," she said.
The human stories in hotels and airport terminals underline the operational and emotional costs of the airspace closures. With thousands of flights cancelled, travellers continue to confront disrupted itineraries, separated luggage and prolonged stays in unfamiliar cities. In many cases, people who merely intended to change planes are now forced to manage basic needs such as fresh clothing and medication while airlines and authorities work to restore services.
As the disruption continues into a third day for many, the immediate focus for stranded passengers has remained pragmatic: find clean clothes, locate functioning shops and laundry services, keep informed through peer networks and try to sleep despite alarms and the persistent fear that conditions might deteriorate further. For industry participants and economies tied to international travel, the scale and duration of these closures remain the key uncertainties to watch.
Key points
- Regional airspace closures have left tens of thousands of passengers stranded, with major hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi at the centre of the disruption.
- Many affected travellers were transiting through Gulf hubs that manage tightly scheduled long-haul connections between Europe and Asia, amplifying the impact on global itineraries.
- Sectors most directly affected include aviation, airport operations, tourism and hospitality, with knock-on effects for logistics and passenger services.
Risks and uncertainties
- Duration of airspace closures and cancellations - continued disruption will prolong impacts on airlines, airports, and passenger flows.
- Passenger safety perceptions and psychological stress - loud disturbances and alarms have increased anxiety among stranded travellers, affecting demand and traveller behavior.
- Operational challenges in baggage handling and recovery - chaotic scenes in baggage halls and separated luggage create logistical difficulties for carriers and ground handlers.