What you need to know about flights to and from the Middle East as war breaks out in Iran
Air travel in the Middle East has been suspended since Saturday amid US and Israeli airstrikes in Iran and the Islamic Republic’s retaliatory attacks on other countries in the region.
Raymond Grewal of Vancouver was on his way back to Canada from his honeymoon in the Maldives on Saturday and was meant to have a 12-hour layover in Dubai.
He was on a flight to Dubai when he first heard about the dispute and thought their flight might be rescheduled. But he didn’t expect that he was still waiting for him to come home after three days.
When they arrived, the situation was tense and he started to see rumors on social media that the emirate’s airport will soon be closed.
Grewal and his wife are among the thousands of travelers stranded in the region and on international destinations connecting to major airports in Doha and Abu Dhabi, as well as Dubai – one of the world’s busiest air hubs.
Iran targeted all three of those airports over the weekend with missile and drone strikes, and also hit luxury hotels in Dubai.
This has led to airlines canceling more than 9,500 flights across the Middle East since Saturday, according to air traffic monitoring website Flightradar24.
By Monday night, some airlines had resumed a small number of flights from the Middle East.
Grwal says he and his wife are currently booked to fly from Dubai via Frankfurt on Wednesday, but he hopes Air Canada can rebook them on the flight soon.
“We’re going to do a long layover. We don’t care,” he said. “Alright, get us out of here.”
Here’s what we know about travelers potentially leaving again, as volleys of rocket fire and drone strikes continue across the region.
Join Morning Live host David Common as he recounts how he flew from Toronto to Tel Aviv in 24 hours to report on the ground following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February. Common is in Israel as part of CBC News’ special coverage of the Middle East as the United States continues Operation Epic Fury in the region.
What happens at airports
Dubai Airports, the official website of the city’s two airports – Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central Airport – posted an advisory on Monday saying that a limited number of flights would resume that night.
According to the site’s departure page, the Emirates flight to Mumbai departed at 9:12 pm local time, followed by flights to four other cities in India. FlyDubai has also started operating flights to destinations in Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, the home base of Etihad Airways, confirmed that operations had resumed on Monday but passenger flights were still due to depart at 1am local time on Tuesday.
Unlike Emirates, Etihad Airways said in a post to X that it would not resume commercial flights until 2pm local time on Wednesday.
Qatar’s airport remained closed on Monday, disrupting flights of Qatar Airways and other international carriers flying through Hamad International Airport.
The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority is expected to provide an update on the closure of the airspace on Tuesday at 9 a.m. local time.
In Israel, still targeted by Iranian strikes, Ben Gurion Airport is set to resume “very limited” service starting Tuesday.
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What Canadian airlines say
Air Canada says it will not resume flight services to and from Dubai and Tel Aviv until March 23.
The airline operates regular flights to Dubai from Toronto, but previously suspended a seasonal direct flight to and from Vancouver.
Air Canada has suspended direct flights between Toronto and Israel’s main airport because of the war in Gaza and “ongoing political uncertainty.”
The airline offers to change flights to those destinations free of charge, but if the flight has already been cancelled, the company says it will contact customers directly with options.
For those traveling on flights booked on Air Canada not yet affected by the disruption, the airline is allowing voluntary changes to itineraries, departures or destinations booked before February 28 for travel between now and March 15.
Those places include: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil (Iraq) and Dammam (Saudi Arabia).
CBC News contacted Air Canada to find out more about how many travelers are affected and how many are stranded in Middle Eastern airports, and how the airline is helping those customers. The response was not received in time for publication.
WestJet does not offer direct flights to the Middle East. But on its website, the Calgary-based airline says customers who have booked flights on WestJet and partner airlines to Dubai and the Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Jeddah can change or cancel their bookings without paying a fee.
For destination changes, the airline says customers will have to pay the difference in airfare, while any outstanding amounts will be refunded.
The Calgary-based airline says costs associated with canceled bookings will be refunded or credited.
In the meantime19:48What’s next for Iran?
Beware of scams
Meanwhile, Grewal, a traveler from Vancouver who got lost in Dubai, responded to X’s posts on the official accounts of Air Canada and Emirates, hoping to get help with rebooking.
Soon after, he received a response from what appeared to be the airline’s customer support unit.
Grewal quickly realized that it was a new account with no followers and a random username unrelated to the airline.
In another post, he flagged it as a scam, but says he’s seen similar accounts responding to travelers on posts from Air Canada and Emirates.
The account he shared with has been suspended.
Emirates posted via X on Monday that customers should “be aware of fake accounts” and that only its official channels on the platform – @Emirates and @EmiratesSupport – can be identified by the gold authentication check marks.
Qatar Airways shared a similar post on Sunday, saying fraudulent accounts were asking customers for personal information.
The airline warned that it will never ask for sensitive information such as passwords or bank details through social media and only communicate with the Qatar Airways website or app.
Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who is in India and Prime Minister Mark Carney, said on Monday that although Canada shares US concerns about the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran, it does not intend to engage in any military operations and would like to see a solution.
