Photos show chaos at airports as passengers are left stranded due to canceled flights

• Airports across the Middle East have suspended all flight operations until further notice, leaving many people stranded.

• The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, and Iran launched retaliatory strikes across the region.

• An Emirates passenger told Business Insider he was stuck on the plane for five hours without food before everyone got off the plane.

Iranian air strikes closed airspace and triggered massive flight cancellations, leaving airport departure signs red and leaving travelers stranded.

The center of the chaos is in the Middle East, where the airports of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi are giant hubs for global transit traffic. Domestic airlines such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways carry a combined 90,000 transit passengers a day, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

This figure does not include thousands of travelers whose final destination is the Middle East.

Jaiveer Cheema, an Emirates passenger who was due to fly back to the United States on Saturday, told Business Insider that he was stuck on the plane for five hours without food before everyone was disembarked and hauled into a crowded terminal at Dubai International Airport.

“It was chaos at the airport for the next few hours because no one knew what to do,” he said. “We spoke to several security guards and Emirates employees and they all gave us different answers.”

Cheema said they waited in long queues until they finally got hotel vouchers and took a bus to their accommodation. Ninety minutes after arriving, he was still waiting for a room – well after midnight in Dubai; nearly 20 hours after he first showed up for his 9am flight.

While many passengers were trapped in closed airspace in the area until further notice, the disruption was caused far beyond the area.

Flights to affected areas from places like London and the United States have been canceled outright or rerouted, leaving travelers far from home in crowded airport terminals unsure when they will be able to depart.

Airlines told passengers on social media that wait times at airports and on customer service phone lines would be long as they tried to cope with the sudden disruption.

The number of people and planes displaced around the world is expected to snowball on Saturday alone if airports are not able to resume operations soon.

Passengers form long, winding queues in Dubai.

Cheema waited in line for hours but managed to get a hotel voucher — though he had yet to secure a room when he spoke to Business Insider. He said he had received no answers from Emirates about its next steps.

An Emirates spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

Passengers stranded at Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport in Lebanon.

Airlines are adjusting their operations in response to the strike. Lufthansa Group said it would suspend flights to Beirut, Tel Aviv, Amman, Erbil and Tehran until March 7.

Airlines are suspending flights across the region, including Lebanon.

In a statement shared on the Lufthansa Group website, the airline said it would also suspend flights to other regions.

“The following airspace will also not be used until March 7: Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar and Iran,” the airline said. “In addition, Lufthansa Group airlines will suspend flights to and from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riad and Dammam until March 1. In addition, UAE airspace will not be used before March 1.”

International flights were disrupted at Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport.

Tribhuvan International Airport on Saturday issued a passenger advisory saying international flights “may be delayed, rescheduled or canceled” due to airspace restrictions.

Passengers traveling on major airlines are being told to check their flight status.

Tribhuvan International Airport told passengers flying on major airlines such as Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines to coordinate with these companies to resolve travel issues.

The closure of Qatar’s airspace has disrupted flights at Hamad International Airport.

Qatar’s Hamad International Airport said all aircraft movements have been suspended due to the closure of the country’s airspace.

“Our priority is always the safety of our passengers and employees. We are working closely with government stakeholders and airline partners to care for affected passengers,” the airport wrote in an advisory.

In London, flights to Middle Eastern countries were canceled.

Flights from London’s Gatwick Airport to the Middle East were also canceled on Saturday.

London Gatwick Airport told some passengers to expect disruption to travel.

A spokesman for London Gatwick Airport told Sky News it “expects disruption to our Qatar and Emirates flights”.

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