Stranded travellers across the Gulf are clinging to one simple hope: a phone call saying their flight will depart. For many, that call comes at the last possible moment, and few allow themselves to relax until the aircraft has taken off and cleared Emirati airspace.
"There was just this eerie feeling on the plane. Everyone was just dead quiet. No one really spoke," said Zoe Jackson, who was aboard one of the first flights to leave Dubai on Tuesday. She added that it was not until lunch that passengers finally began to relax, sensing the ordeal might be over. Jackson, now safely back in Britain, said she only received confirmation she could fly a few hours before departure when her hotel rang at 1 a.m. to say she had to leave "now" if she wanted a seat.
Airports across the Gulf have shifted to very reduced operations as airlines and governments work to move tens of thousands of citizens and residents home in the context of the escalating U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Dubai, which normally handles more than 1,000 flights a day, along with nearby Doha and Abu Dhabi, sits at the crossroads of east-west travel, channeling long-haul traffic between Europe and Asia through tightly timed connections. Many passengers who expected only short stopovers have been marooned - often without luggage - since Saturday.
Dozens of repatriation flights were due to leave Dubai on Wednesday. But securing a seat remained uncertain, with travellers depending on last-minute availability and rapid decisions.
Waiting, watching and weighing options
In hotels, groups of strangers swap the latest updates on whether flights have been added or filled and discuss the likelihood that a scheduled departure will actually take place. Online, in social media groups, travellers trade tips and debate alternatives. Some are considering overland routes to neighbouring countries rather than risk additional cancellations at major air hubs.
"The biggest decision is whether we stay put or try to cross a land border," said Deirdre Amola, an American travel blogger stranded in Dubai. "Then it’s: where should I even try to fly?"
The uncertainty prompts Calculation after calculation: how far to travel by road, which neighbouring airport might still have seats, and whether the risks of a longer ground journey outweigh the chance of a rebooked flight.
Journeys fragmented and fraught
For some, the path home has been pieced together through a series of fortunate breaks and frantic purchases. James Gaskin, trying to return to Britain from India, was stranded in Dubai on Saturday. By Wednesday he had made it as far as Istanbul, with one final leg remaining to Manchester. His route included a difficult stop in Mumbai, where, short on sleep, he discovered he had no onward flight and had to enlist two travel agents and use his corporate credit card to secure a seat home.
Gaskin’s subsequent connecting flight from Dubai was delayed by more than two hours, then turned around once taxiing had begun and was delayed again. "When we got out of UAE airspace, everyone kind of cheered," he said, adding he felt guilty while many others remained unable to leave.
Considering a desert drive to Riyadh
Other travellers are contemplating long road trips. Grzegorz Markiewicz and his wife Malgorzata, together with one of their three daughters, found themselves stuck in Doha after returning from a wedding in Australia. They have not received updates on when their flight might depart and are now weighing a more than six-hour drive across the desert to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where some hotel guests have already gone in the hope of catching an outbound flight.
"We are waiting to hear what they’re going to say about the road, about safety on the road," Malgorzata said. "And then we will decide." Their situation illustrates the limited information many face and the hard choices travellers must make under shifting conditions.
Across the region, the picture is one of intense logistical pressure. Airlines and governments are arranging repatriation capacity, while travellers juggle incomplete information and last-minute opportunities. For those affected, a single phone call can mean the difference between another night stranded and a return home.