Travel managers and travel management companies (TMCs) continue to work around the clock to look after travellers impacted by the closure of airspace in the gulf amid the Middle East crisis.

Since the first strikes on Saturday, more than 19,000 flights into, out of and within the Middle East have been cancelled and one million passengers have been impacted, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

Industry leaders said the travel industry is currently navigating the most significant disruption to air travel since the global pandemic.

For now, airspace closures remain in effect for Iran, Iraq and Israel, with partial or complete closures in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

The value of the TMC

TMCs have been dealing with up to 10 times the usual volume of calls and enquiries, according to Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association (BTA).

“Across the BTA, member travel management companies, teams have been working around the clock since this crisis began – not just processing calls, but genuinely looking after people,” he posted on LinkedIn.

The BTA reported that despite the surge in demand, average response times for many members remained under five minutes. Account managers remained logged on throughout the weekend to ensure corporate clients were briefed on employee locations by Saturday morning.

Wratten added a message to those still in the region: “Stay patient, stay safe. The industry will get you home when it is safe to do so. That is a commitment, not a platitude.”

The industry has also maintained a sharp focus on the wellbeing of stranded or disrupted passengers.

Scott Davies, CEO of the Institute of Travel Management (ITM), noted the importance of shifting the conversation from cost to care: “As an industry, we are all working to translate duty of care and traveller wellbeing into a value that can be understood and, therefore, invested in,” he said.

Repatriation and airline status

British travellers stranded in the Gulf have begun taking off on limited flights back to the UK. Several repatriation flights have been processed, including five Emirates flights departing Dubai for European hubs. Emirates currently plans to operate four specific flights to the UK.

On Tuesday British Airways said it would fly from Muscat to London from Thursday, March 5, for stranded passengers.

A chartered plane will leave Muscat, Oman at 7pm today (March 4), for the UK with vulnerable stranded Brits as the priority. These passengers will be contacted directly.

Virgin Atlantic has resumed its regular services between London Heathrow and Dubai and Riyadh. In a statement it said it would be constantly monitoring the situation. “Our operation ⁠is ​subject to ongoing ​assessments,” it said.

Other scheduled commercial operations remain heavily restricted:

• Emirates: All scheduled commercial flights to and from Dubai remain suspended until March 5, although the airline is operating a limited number of freighter and repatriation services.
• Etihad Airways: Scheduled flights to and from Abu Dhabi are suspended until 14:00 UAE time on Thursday, March 5.
• Qatar Airways: Operations are fully suspended until at least Friday (March 6).
• Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific: Both carriers confirmed they are bypassing Iranian airspace, ensuring global connectivity to their respective hubs remains intact, albeit with slightly extended flight times

Kent Webber, Senior Manager of Intelligence Services at Global Rescue, said travellers must weigh the essential nature of their trip against the real possibility of being stranded due to airspace closures, airport shutdowns, or cascading flight cancellations.

“Even where airports remain technically open, flight schedules are severely disrupted, and onward connections may not be reliable,” he cautioned.

“These closures and limitations create a cascading disruption across global aviation networks, not just within the Middle East. Travellers transiting the region for Europe, Asia, or Africa should anticipate rerouting, extended delays, and potential cancellations.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged all British citizens in the region to register their presence and monitor FCDO travel advice regularly.

In the US, President Donald Trump warned that the conflict could last longer than the four to five weeks initially predicted, potentially elongating the travel chaos. The President also advised US citizens to depart a dozen countries in the Middle East immediately.