The ripple effects of the war have spread across the Middle East and beyond, with Iran launching retaliatory strikes in the Gulf states. This has upended travel across the region, stranding hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the Gulf's major airports as connecting points between Europe, Africa, and Asia. National carriers have been forced to either scrap services entirely or move to significantly longer, more costly routes.
While global leaders and citizens alike have described frustrations and growing fear, there are minor indications that the backlog is beginning to clear in certain corridors. The British government recently suggested that commercial flights from the United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom were returning to normal levels, but Doha remains a complicated zone for those seeking westward travel.