The Foreign Office has launched an unprecedented operation to support British citizens in the Middle East, as airstrikes disrupt travel in the region.
Sky News understands UK authorities are working on plans for potential routes to evacuate tens of thousands of people if airspace in the Gulf remains off limits.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News on Monday morning that the UK government was “working on all possible options” and that teams had been deployed to Gulf countries to help Britons.
“Of course, we want people to get home safely as quickly as possible,” he said Morning with ridge and frost.
Like Iran Retaliates The US and Israeli strikes, along with counterattacks on military and other targets across the Gulf, forced the closure of major airports for a second day, including the world’s busiest international hub. Dubai.
It has sent shock waves and caused the most severe trade disruption through the Gulf since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Cooper said there were around 300,000 British citizens in the area, including residents, tourists and those in transit.
By Monday morning, 102,000 – most of them from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – had registered their presence in the Middle East on an online government platform launched after the conflict began on Saturday.
Most have been moved to hotels, one of the biggest consular cases the Foreign Office has had to deal with in recent years.
On Sunday evening, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “In the last two days Iran has launched a series of attacks across the region against countries that have not attacked them.
“They have hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying.
“This is clearly a dangerous situation.”
British nationals are currently being advised to stay where they are, follow the instructions of local authorities and monitor the Foreign Office’s travel advice.
The government is trying to lower expectations of clearance
Government figures are keen to say they are “looking at all options” when it comes to evacuating British citizens from the Middle East.
However, a senior source has now said that “the preference for commercial routes while the airspace is open” is a sign of the scale of the challenge.
With talk of potentially taking holidaymakers by bus from places like Dubai to other countries, this is perhaps a sign that the Whitehall machine is trying to temper expectations.
And this is not without reason.
Ministers put the number of British citizens in the region at between 200,000 and 300,000.
For context, the Afghanistan evacuation in 2021 included 15,000 aircraft.
With few passenger flights now leaving the UAE, the government is perhaps hoping that the resumption of commercial travel will ease the prospect of imminent mass state intervention.
Prime Minister also said on Sunday Allow the US to use British bases For defensive strikes against Iran. The Liberal Democrats warned against a “slippery slope” that could see the US “drag Britain into another protracted war in the Middle East”.
But Ms Cooper insisted allowing US use of UK bases was “about the protection of our partners in the Gulf” and “countries where we have a number of British citizens and interests”.
“We believe we want to find a negotiated solution, a diplomatic process,” he said.
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Emirates flights have been grounded at Dubai International Airport since it was closed. Image: AP
Thousands of flights were cancelled
More than 3,400 flights were canceled at seven airports in the Middle East on Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightRadar24.
Disruption hits Doha Qatar – It handled 54 million passengers last year – along with Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
And since airports in Qatar and the UAE are often used for connecting flights, the disruption could disrupt travel plans for travelers around the world.
Further afield in Bali, more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport after five flights to the Middle East were canceled or delayed, officials said.
Departure and arrival panels at HeathrowGatwick and Manchester airports listed multiple flights serving destinations across seven countries as cancelled.
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Dubai International Airport grounded flights in and out of the hub. File photo: Reuters
Aviation analyst Sirium estimates that 90,000 passengers a day fly between Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha with Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.
‘Drones were exploding in the sky above us’
Jo Hummel, 43, and her husband Chris Jenkins, 46, were returning from Thailand with their two children, Ivy, 17, and Kit, 12, when their connecting flight from Doha to London was cancelled.
Ms Hummel, from the Isle of Wight, said: “We landed in Qatar and people were opening their phones and there was a national alert in Arabic. We realized something was going on.
“We were transferring in Doha to London and everything was being cancelled.”
Smoke rose after reports of an Iranian missile strike in Doha, Qatar today. Image: Reuters
She continued: “The Qatar (Airways) staff came and gave us a hotel room. At first we were going to stay at the airport, but now we are 20 minutes away in a hotel organized by the airline.
“I had to get them out of bed this morning because there were drones exploding in the sky above us and we have big windows. It’s so scary.
“As a mom, I’m scared out of my wits and try to stay calm, but organized.
“I don’t think anything is left until it’s safe.”
Passengers stranded at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. Image: Reuters
In new travel advice issued overnight, the Foreign Office advised UK nationals against non-essential travel to Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement, the department said: “British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates can register their presence to receive live updates from the FCDO on the situation in the Middle East.
“You should continue to follow travel advice and the advice of local authorities.”
Air traffic in the Middle East at 1.40 pm on Sunday. Image: Flight Radar 24
Henry Harteveld, an analyst at the Atmosphere Research Group, said: “For travellers, there’s no way to sugarcoat this.”
He said they should “be prepared for delays or cancellations for the next few days as these attacks evolve and hopefully end.”
Attacks on Iran on Saturday resulted in deaths Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali KhameneiIranian state TV finally confirmed it.
In subsequent retaliatory strikes, two UAE airports reported incidents of what the government condemned as “heinous attacks involving Iranian ballistic missiles”.
A passenger checks departure times at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, Lebanon. Image: AP
Four people were injured at Dubai International Airport, while one person was killed and seven injured in a drone attack at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, officials said.
In Dubai too, Explosion and subsequent fire It happened near the entrance of Fairmont The Palm Hotel.
Airlines that normally operate in the region may choose to reroute flights, leading to longer journey times, rising fuel costs and ultimately higher ticket prices.
It was unclear how long the standoff would last, with US President Donald Trump initially saying the fighting in Iran would last “four weeks or more”, but on Sunday, he said it could be five weeks or more.
