Oman and Saudi Arabia emerge as evacuation hubs in Iran war

• UAE and Qatar experience most disruption
• 90 percent of Etihad departures cancelled
• Air India resuming flights to Jeddah

Airports in Oman and Saudi Arabia are emerging as important evacuation hubs as airlines reroute stranded passengers through alternative Gulf airports.

Regional airspace closures resulting from the Iran conflict have paralysed major gateways including Dubai.

Residents and tourists stuck in the UAE are undertaking a 12-hour journey to Muscat to secure outbound flights, with Oman Air operating twice-daily bus services from Sharjah to support departures.

Air India announced it would restart flights to Jeddah from Thursday. Services to Delhi and Mumbai from Jeddah are planned.

Disruption is widespread across the Middle East but is most severe in the UAE and Qatar. About 30 percent of flights from Muscat were cancelled on Wednesday, compared with 18 percent in both Jeddah and Riyadh. 

That contrasts with Dubai, where roughly 80 percent of services were suspended, and Doha, home to Hamad International Airport, where just 1 percent of flights operated.

Qatar Airways said it planned to start operating a limited number of relief flights from Thursday to support passengers who are stranded. Services include flights from Muscat to London Heathrow, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome and Amsterdam.

The Doha flag carrier will also operate a flight from Riyadh to Frankfurt.

“Qatar Airways will contact affected passengers directly with their assigned flight details, travel arrangements and next steps,” the company said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Emirates said there were no plans to use other airports.

“Our flights operate from our hub, Dubai,” they said.

Some of the region’s biggest carriers were not operating any flights, or were flying with limited capacity. Gulf Air and Qatar Airways cancelled all scheduled services on Wednesday, while about 82 percent of flights operated by Emirates were grounded and roughly 90 percent of Etihad Airways departures were suspended.

UAE economy and tourism minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri said emergency corridors had successfully transported almost 17,500 passengers across 60 flights by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, with capacity set to expand further as security assessments allow.

Meanwhile, a flight from Muscat, which was chartered by the UK government and scheduled to leave the Gulf on Wednesday night, failed to take off. 

It is unclear why the aircraft did not leave, but reports suggest the flight will depart on Thursday. AGBI has contacted the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office for comment.