West Asia flight disruptions: Stranded Indians in Dubai, Doha and Jordan share stories of uncertainty and support

There are moments when geopolitics feels like an abstraction, the sort of thing discussed in think-tank panels and policy journals, and then there are weeks like this one, when it arrives in the most ordinary of places: departures board at an airport, WhatsApp calls from worried parents, and the uneasy silence of the runway.

The latest tremor began with the joint American and Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets in late February. In the days that followed, the geography of the conflict widened in ways that few residents of the region could ignore: missiles were intercepted over multiple Gulf Cooperation Council states, a drone strike sparked a fire near the US Consulate in Dubai, and governments across the region moved quickly to close or restrict airspace as a precaution.

For the United Arab Emirates — a country that has built its modern identity on efficiency, safety and the promise that things simply work — the disruption was felt first in the sky. Dubai International Airport, normally one of the busiest crossroads of global aviation, saw flights vanish from its schedule as airlines scrambled to reroute aircraft away from contested airspace. Hundreds of flights were cancelled across the region in the early days of the crisis alone, leaving passengers stranded.

In Dubai’s Jumeirah neighbourhood, Anirudh Nair, a 39-year-old fintech risk analyst originally from Kochi, first sensed that something unusual was unfolding not through headlines but through the skyline. From the balcony of his apartment on the evening of February 28, he watched streaks of light cutting across the horizon in arcs that did not resemble the steady approach of commercial aircraft. “Dubai’s night sky is usually very predictable,” he said. “You see planes lining up for landing, construction cranes blinking red across the skyline. That night, the lights were moving differently.”

Messages quickly began circulating in neighbourhood WhatsApp groups suggesting that air-defence systems had intercepted drones or missiles somewhere over the Gulf. Official statements later confirmed that projectiles aimed at US interests in the region had been neutralised.

“The city itself stayed calm,” Anirudh said. “But you could tell something had changed.”

The following morning, he opened the Emirates app to confirm the flight he had booked to Kochi for a family function: “It had simply disappeared from the schedule.”

Like many travellers that day, he spent hours trying to reach airline helplines, only to encounter automated messages about unusually high call volumes. Eventually, the airline issued a refund for the cancelled ticket, though securing another seat proved difficult as passengers across the region began trying to rearrange their journeys simultaneously.

“At some point you stop calling and just keep refreshing the app,” he said. “You hope something opens up.”

Anirudh is postponing any plans of visiting India.

Finding hope

Several hundred kilometres away, Priyanka Sharma was navigating the same disruption from a different angle. A pharmaceutical sales manager from Pune, she had travelled to Doha for meetings tied to a healthcare distribution project her company was negotiating with a regional partner. The plan had included two days of meetings, then a flight back to Mumbai.

The meetings turned out to be the least complicated part of the trip.

“People started checking their phones as soon as the news about the strikes began circulating,” she said. “At first, everything still looked normal.” Over the next few hours, departure boards at Hamad International Airport began changing as airlines reassessed routes through regional airspace. Flights were delayed and eventually cancelled, including Sharma’s return service to India. “The airline told us the ticket would be refunded,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean you can immediately get another seat.” Her employer extended her stay in Doha and arranged accommodation at a nearby hotel, advising staff not to rush to the airport unless they had confirmed bookings.

For the next two days, Priyanka has tried several alternatives — direct flights, connections through Muscat and even a longer route through Colombo — but seats appeared and vanished from booking apps almost instantly.

“You would see a seat available for a few seconds and then it would disappear,” she said. “It felt like everyone in the Gulf was trying to rebook at the same time.” Priyanka is holding out hope to return to India soon.

Don’t panic

The scale of the Indian presence in the region makes disruptions like these particularly complex. According to estimates cited by Anish Gawande, national spokesperson for the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar faction, roughly 3.5 to 4.5 million Indians live in the United Arab Emirates, while nearly 10 million Indian citizens live across the Gulf region.

“The advice right now is simple: stay where you are and avoid unnecessary travel,” Anish said. “People should also stay away from areas around US military or diplomatic establishments.” He emphasised that civilians are not the intended targets of the attacks. “These are drone interceptions,” he said. “What people are seeing in some places is debris falling from intercepted drones. These are not targeted strikes on civilian homes or residential areas.”

Because of the sheer size of the Indian diaspora in the region, large-scale evacuation would be extremely difficult if panic were to set in. “You simply cannot move people overnight,” he said. “The most important thing right now is to remain calm and allow diplomatic de-escalation to take its course.”

For now, the biggest challenges are logistical rather than security-related. Travellers whose flights were cancelled are often being accommodated by airlines, though not always consistently. “Some stranded passengers are being put up in hotels by airlines, but many others are having to fend for themselves and pay extremely high prices for accommodation or alternative tickets,” he said.

The problem is particularly stressful for travellers stuck mid-journey, especially those who were transiting through West Asia from Europe or North America and suddenly found their connecting flights cancelled. “Refunds alone don’t solve the problem,” he said. “In many cases, they don’t come close to covering the cost of new tickets under current conditions.”

State governments in India have begun setting up support systems for citizens abroad. Maharashtra and Karnataka have both launched helplines, while citizen groups and volunteers are helping connect stranded travellers with accommodation, medications and other essential assistance.

You’re safe with us

While travellers across the Gulf were scrambling to rearrange their journeys, events were unfolding somewhat differently in Jordan. Freelance journalist Chandreyi Bandyopadhyay had arrived in the country a few days earlier as part of a press trip organised by Royal Jordanian and the Jordan Tourism Board.

On February 28, the group was in Aqaba, Jordan’s southern port city, where the geography of the Red Sea brings several borders unusually close together. That afternoon had unfolded with the visiting journalists swimming and snorkelling along the coast. Later that evening, however, the sky offered a reminder of how near the wider conflict had drawn.

“From our hotel balcony, we could see missiles streaking across the sky toward Israel,” Chandreyi said. “There were no sirens in Aqaba, but seeing those trails made the situation suddenly feel very real.”

Soon afterwards, the organisers moved the group back to Amman, the Jordanian capital.

Overnight, sirens sounded intermittently across the city and flashes could occasionally be seen in the distance as interceptions took place beyond the surrounding hills. The following day the group travelled to Jerash, about 60 kilometres North of Amman, where the sound of fighter jets passing overhead could be heard.

Yet what struck her most was the calm with which people around them approached the situation. “Our guide kept telling us not to worry,” she said. “He said Jordanians are used to living between conflicts even though the country itself is not part of them.”

Jordan’s location has long placed it near regional tensions, and residents have grown accustomed to moments when events elsewhere echo briefly across their skies. Locals told the group that during periods of heightened activity fragments from intercepted drones or missiles sometimes land in open areas outside cities, and residents occasionally go out after hearing sirens simply to see where debris might have fallen.

Despite the tension overhead, daily life in Amman appeared largely unchanged. Shops remained open, highways were operational, and traffic moved through the capital’s hills much as it always does, though security presence was noticeably tighter around government buildings and royal compounds.

Chandreyi and the other journalists were staying at a local hotel where accommodation and meals had been arranged as part of the visit. For much of the trip organisers assured them that their scheduled departure on March 2 would proceed normally.

Embassies were monitoring their nationals as well. The Indian Embassy in Amman contacted Chandreyi and other travellers to ask them to register their presence so officials could track citizens in case assistance became necessary. Even amid the uncertainty, small gestures of hospitality continued.

At one point, when the group appeared anxious about travel plans, organisers suggested a brief detour to one of Amman’s well-known dessert shops. “They told us we needed to relax,” she said. Chandreyi arrived in Mumbai on March 3.

Open doors

Elsewhere in Dubai, another resident had responded to the disruption in her own way. Rhea Mehra, who manages several rental apartments across the country, posted a brief message on Instagram offering temporary accommodation to families stranded by cancelled flights free of cost.

“Within a few hours we had more than a thousand messages,” she said. “People were sending screenshots of cancelled tickets and asking if they could stay for a few nights.”

Rhea manages roughly 50 apartments across Dubai and prioritised families travelling with children and elderly passengers. About 50 families were eventually able to stay in the apartments while waiting for flights to reopen or alternative routes to become available.

“We couldn’t help everyone,” she said, “but we tried to help where we could.”