British tourists in Doha and Dubai have spoken to Sky News about their experiences of being caught up in the conflict in Iran.
Flight operations were largely suspended for a third day as tens of thousands of passengers were stranded as aviation faces its biggest test since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The war in the Middle East escalated further on Monday Israel And the US has struck Iran US President Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that it would probably take several weeks.
Tehran and its allies have pushed back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states and key targets for the world’s oil and natural gas production.
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Iranian retaliation for US and Israeli attacks threatens the British people across the Middle East.
Around 300,000 Britons are believed to be in countries targeted by Iran, with 102,000 registering their presence with the Foreign Office, as officials work on contingency plans, including a potential mass evacuation.
Rocket over Dubai on 2 March 2026. Image: Reuters
Large swathes of airspace across the Middle East have been closed amid a deepening conflict between Iran and US-Israeli forces.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai-based long-haul carriers Etihad Airways and Emirates and budget carrier Fly Dubai said they would operate select flights from the country, where air traffic was suspended on Saturday and defense systems intercepted missiles and drones from Iran.
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Sir Keir Stormer said the UK government was “looking at all options to support our people” as a small number of flights from Abu Dhabi arrived at Heathrow Airport on Monday evening.
British tourist Gary Gore, 57, and his wife Laura, 48, from Suffolk, are currently holidaying in Doha.
British tourists Gary Gore and his wife Laura
Mr Gore, a partner at a global professional services firm, told Sky News: “We started a wonderful trip in this beautiful hotel with amazing sunshine and unfortunately, it turned into a nightmare from hell.”
“The missiles started on Saturday,” said Ms Gore, director of the global SAS company.
He said: “We’re living out of our hotel room. We’re packed, ready to go. Missiles are going out all the time. Total uncertainty.
“We got our grab bag in case we had to run out of the hotel room.”
Brit Terry Dunne, 55, and his wife Joanne, 52, from Bradford, are in Dubai for a week’s holiday.
Mr Dunne, an engineer working in the North Sea, was out in the pool when the first missiles hit and the crew shouted at him to come in.
He told Sky News: “A boom or bomb went off outside the hotel on Sunday night, waking us up with security alerts on our phones.
“In the morning, there was another explosion on the hotel. It must have been knocked down and we all had to move inside the hotel on the orders of the hotel staff.”
Gary Gore
An empty road near Dubai International Airport. Image: Reuters
Mr Dunne said his wife, a university administrator, had to jump out of the pool and run back to the hotel because the blast was “hundreds of feet in the air”.
Observing the scene from his hotel balcony, he said the streets were deserted, with people told to stay indoors as much as possible.
Mr Dunne claimed his insurance company was not interested in helping the couple, saying both the airline and travel company were also refusing to help with accommodation.
The couple said they have tried to contact the foreign office and the hotel, but they have not received anything so far.
Mr Dunne said he had no choice but to stay on his credit card, adding that he now had to “hope for the best”.
He said: “My wife and I spent the whole day yesterday in a hotel on the advice of the Foreign Office to keep us safe.
“We’ve done absolutely nothing, really everything’s closed, the pool and everything.”
Meanwhile, an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi landed at Heathrow Airport on Monday evening.
Flight EY067 arrived at West London Airport Terminal 4 at 7.25pm ​​after a late departure from the UAE capital.
It is one of 15 Etihad Airways flights departing from Abu Dhabi in a three-hour window.
Adam Barton, who was traveling with his wife Abbey and their daughter, said he was trying to fly home from Bangkok on Saturday and had an hour and 45 minutes in Abu Dhabi for a transfer.
As he waited for the flight, he had an alert on his phone of a potential missile attack, warning him to stay away from windows.
Ms Barton said: “We were all caught in the middle. It was very scary.”
Mr Barton added: “We went to the lounge. We sat there with a couple of glasses of champagne, which helped a bit. Then we were told to leave the airport and we got an Uber to the hotel.”
He said when he arrived at the hotel he “heard some bangs and there was a fighter jet behind the windows”.
The couple said they woke up at various points during the night to loud bangs that they said were intercepted missiles.
James Castle, who is based in Hertfordshire but lives and works in Abu Dhabi, was on a flight to Heathrow.
He had already booked to come home for the weekend to try to sell the house.
He described his ordeal as “really, really stressful, really, really tense”, witnessing “missiles above exploding”.
“We have seen a warehouse in the port on fire due to drones falling,” he said.
Mr Castle said his flights were later canceled so he had not slept in 36 hours, but he “by some miracle” managed to rebook it, leaving an empty airport.
“I’m restless. I want a cup of tea,” he added.
