by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 8:50 AM ET, Tue March 3, 2026
Airports across the Middle East have become the targets for strikes by Iran in retaliation for the United States attacking and killing their key leadership, stranding travelers as the U.S. State Department tells Americans in 14 countries to “depart now.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, over 3,400 flights were canceled across seven major airports in the Middle East, with Iran striking airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, along with U.S. military sites and civilian targets, including at least one luxury hotel in Dubai.
The Associated Press told the public that 90,000 travelers pass through Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi on the region’s three most popular airlines every day, so it’s likely the conflict has impacted travel for hundreds of thousands of travelers by now.
Parts of the airspace or airports in Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates are closed, further widening the area of impact to much of the Middle East.
BBC reported the airports are in differing stages of being closed or reducing flights, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai opening for limited flights, while others remain completely closed. One person was killed and 11 injured at airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi since the strikes began this past weekend.
Airlines are also pulling out, including EasyJet from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the only non-Middle Eastern country to have been hit by Iranian strikes thus far.
It’s not only impacting Americans, either: Britain has told its citizens to leave the region, too, but with airports cancelling flights, over 102,000 Britons have already registered with their Foreign Office as stuck, requesting emergency help, which may soon come in evacuation flights for those trapped without a way home, BBC News reported.
Despite having started this most recent conflict, the United States government has not announced plans for evacuation flights—instead, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a video on X encouraging travelers who are stuck to enroll in the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which provides safety and information alerts to travelers.
The Department of State also posted information with phone numbers to the department for those wishing to request emergency assistance.
The Trump Administration told reporters that it expects the conflict to worsen over the next few days, and that it will last at least four to five weeks.
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