Airlines serving the Middle East have cancelled or diverted flights after the US and Israel launched deadly strikes on Iran.
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Wizz Air are among carriers to pare back their schedules to destinations in the Middle East, citing safety concerns.
Sites in Iran including in the capital, Tehran, have been targeted in the attacks on Saturday. Iran has been accused of launching retaliatory strikes on Israel and several other nations hosting US facilities in the region with civilian casualties.
The UK Foreign Office has urged British nationals in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to immediately shelter in place following reports of explosions.
US President Donald Trump cited a failure to reach an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear programme and regime change as among the reasons for launching the attack.
Iranian airspace has been closed and flight tracking shows international air traffic avoiding the region.
British Airways has cancelled services to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until Wednesday, and Amman in Jordan on Saturday.
Passengers on the 20:00 flight to Doha on Friday returned to Heathrow after it turned back part way through the journey, but this was due to a technical issue with the aircraft and unrelated to the military action.
Sarah Short was due to return from a holiday in Dubai to Heathrow on Saturday.
“We got on the plane and were literally about to taxi when the pilot said: ‘We have some bad news – we’re not going anywhere’,” she told the BBC. “We then sat on the plane on the tarmac for over three hours.”
She added: “There’s no flights, everything’s suspended. BA said there’s nothing they can do,” she said. “It’s all so volatile, you just don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
Virgin Atlantic cancelled a Heathrow to Dubai flight and warned its flights to India, Saudi Arabia and the Maldives may take longer due to being rerouted.
Wizz Air suspended all flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman up until and including next Saturday.
Qatar Airways confirmed the temporary suspension of flights to and from its capital Doha due to the closure of Qatari airspace, while Emirates said it was temporarily stopping services to and from Dubai.
Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, urged travellers to check with their airline for updates.
The Foreign Office told British nationals in four Gulf states to seek shelter after explosions and air raid sirens were heard in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
John Henry, 71, from Northampton, who is on holiday with his family, was at a shopping centre when they got an air raid alert.
“We heard a bit of a thud and felt a tremor, and we saw a number of people moving quickly out of the shopping centre,” he told the BBC.
Qatar’s defence ministry said it had intercepted Iranian missiles.
“You could see the vapour trails where they had hit,” he said. “We’ve heard four or five additional thuds where something must have happened,” said Henry.
The UAE also said it had intercepted Iranian missiles, while footage appears to show the moment a US facility in Bahrain was hit.
UK nationals in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Oman have been told by the Foreign Office to “remain vigilant” and take shelter if advised to do so.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has chaired a Cobra meeting on the strikes earlier on Saturday.
A government spokesperson said: “Our immediate priority is the safety of UK nationals in the region and we will provide them with consular assistance.”
By BBC News
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