Airports around the world, as seen here in the Maldives, found themselves suddenly playing host to stranded tourists – Image: Mohamed Afrah/AFP
German tour operators say at least 30,000 customers have been left without travel options after thousands of flights were canceled across the Middle East because of the US-Israel war with Iran.
Tens of thousands of people on trips organized by German travel agencies have been affected by US-Israel war with Iran, a leading trade group said on Monday.
Figures from the German Travel Association suggest that some 30,000 tourists are unable to fly home amid the hostilities, which have prompted several countries in the region to close their airspace, while many airlines have put flights into and out of the crisis area on hold.
German flagship carrier Lufthansa is among those airlines. The company said that airspace over Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the Saudi airport of Dammam will not be used by Lufthansa and its subsidiaries until at least March 8. United Arab Emirates airspace will be avoided until March 4.
Travellers in the affected areas have been advised to follow safety instructions from the German Foreign Ministry and the guidelines from local authorities.
Germany’s second-largest tour operator, Dertour, said in a statement that “guests who are currently unable to fly home or are waiting for a connecting flight due to airspace closures have been informed by us and are being looked after on site.”
“We will inform our guests on site about return journeys as soon as these are possible again and will accompany our guests on their transfer journeys,” it said, adding that it had set up a crisis hotline.
The company has canceled all trips to the eight countries affected by the conflict until at least Thursday.
A German Defense Ministry spokesperson said on Monday that using military aircraft to evacuate German nationals stranded in the Middle East would be a last resort if all efforts to use commercial operators had been exhausted.
Hundreds of thousands wait in airports
Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi are among the busiest airports in the world, serving as final destinations as well as major transit hubs for connecting flights.
Over the weekend, reports emerged of hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers in airports across the region as countries closed their airspaces.
While the exact number of affected people is difficult to tally, aviation analytics firm Cirium said that at least 90,000 travelers transit through Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi airports alone on a daily basis.
At least 2,800 flights were canceled around the world on Saturday and a further 3,000 on Sunday due to the conflict.
The disruption to air travel caused by the Iran war is the most severe since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
DW.com/NAN 3-3-26
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