Anxious travelers scramble as Iran war strands hundreds of thousands across the Middle East

Frustrated and anxious travelers searched Tuesday for any way out of the Middle East and beyond as the widening Iran war choked off commercial air traffic through the region for a fourth straight day, stranding hundreds of thousands of people.

What began Saturday with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran quickly rippled far beyond the immediate conflict zone. With airspace closed or heavily restricted across much of the Gulf, passengers have been stranded not only in the region but also in cities far from the fighting after their connecting flights were canceled.

“They say ‘Get out,’ but how do you expect us to get out when airspaces are closed?” said Odies Turner, a 32-year-old chef from Dallas who was stuck in Doha, Qatar. “They just have been canceling every flight. I want to go home.”

The U.S. told American citizens to leave more than a dozen countries in the region right away using any available commercial transportation. The countries include Iran and Israel, as well as Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

But commercial options remained limited.

More than 19,000 of the roughly 51,600 flights scheduled into and out of the Middle East between the start of the war and Friday have been canceled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday it was “actively securing” military and charter aircraft to fly Americans out of the region. It said it was in contact with nearly 3,000 citizens seeking assistance or information.

“We know that we’re going to be able to help them,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday, while cautioning that “it's going to take a little time because we don’t control the airspace closures."

Rubio urged stranded Americans to contact the State Department: "We need to know who you are.”

Earlier in the day, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” He provided information ”as a courtesy to those wishing to leave" about an Israeli government shuttle bus to Egypt that Americans could try “as you make your own security plans.”

Israel’s airspace has been closed since Saturday, although some land crossings remain open.

El Al, Israel's flag carrier, said it was launching a large-scale “recovery operation.” Transportation Minister Miri Regev said Ben-Gurion Airport is preparing to gradually reopen for limited incoming flights starting early Thursday.

Under the plan, one passenger flight per hour will be allowed in the first 24 hours — totaling about 5,000 people — with more possible depending on security conditions. It is unclear whether only Israelis will be permitted on the flights, and no commercial departures leaving Israel have been approved.

Australia said a commercial flight from Dubai to Sydney was scheduled Wednesday to start repatriating 24,000 Australians stranded in the UAE.

“This is a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Across the Middle East, travelers waited in terminals and hotels, or stayed inside because of airstrikes. Some cruise passengers were unable to disembark or reroute because ships could not sail through the Strait of Hormuz.

Matt Carwell, an American staying in Dubai, was speaking with The Associated Press by phone from his hotel balcony when he suddenly stopped midsentence.

“Wow,” the 46-year-old said. “There was just a boom.” A fighter jet roared overhead moments later.

Carwell, who volunteers at a New Hampshire school, has flights booked and keeps waiting for one that doesn't get canceled.

“Right now, we’re safe and comfortable,” he said, but not everyone is. “Just feel for them and feel for the people who have either lost their lives or lost someone they're close to.”

Airspace across Iran, Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria were still shut Tuesday, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. The UAE declared its airspace partially closed, and Jordan suspended flights daily from the mid-afternoon until 6 a.m. local time.

The geography of the war has magnified the disruption to air travel. Gulf airports connect Europe, Africa and Asia, and carriers routinely funnel long-haul passengers through hubs such as Dubai and Doha.

“Within the Middle East, an eight-hour flying distance covers two-thirds of the world population,” said Anita Mendiratta, an aviation and tourism consultant who was stranded in Bangkok. When that corridor is blocked, Mendiratta said, it forces planes far north or south, which "puts huge pressure on the airlines.”

Some of the aviation notices governing the closures allow authorities to reopen or restrict portions of airspace on short notice depending on security conditions, meaning flight schedules can change rapidly as the conflict continues to unfold.

Despite the uncertainty, some travelers have managed to catch flights.

Oman Airways advertised flights from Muscat International Airport for passengers able to reach the city from the UAE. Virgin Atlantic said it planned to resume limited service between London Heathrow and both Dubai and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Oman’s airspace remained open, while Saudi Arabia kept most of its airspace operating despite partial closures near its border with Iraq and along the Persian Gulf — making Muscat and Riyadh key staging points for repatriation efforts.

Some wealthy travelers are paying large sums for luxury flights to Europe, first traveling overland to Muscat or to Riyadh to reach airports considered safe from Iranian drone and missile attacks. Prices for charter flights have soared since the start of the war.

Emirates and Etihad operated a limited number of repatriation flights Tuesday, even as their regular commercial schedules remained suspended. Both carriers said the departures were focused on moving stranded passengers and operating cargo or repositioning flights with government approval.

“We called our children at 3 a.m. to ask forgiveness because we might die and to tell them we love them,” said Mariana Muicaru, one of hundreds of Romanian pilgrims who had been stranded on a church trip to Israel. She described watching rockets streak across the sky, before eventually reaching Bucharest on Tuesday.

In Germany, passengers arriving in Frankfurt from Dubai on Tuesday were asked by reporters if they were glad to be home.

“Yes, of course,” Wassim Mahlas said. “I’m breathing German air again.”

Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report, including Danica Kirka, Daniel Niemann, Kristen Grieshaber, Nicolae Dumitrache, Samy Magdy, Jovana Gec, Josh Funk, Julie Walker and Rod McGuirk.

A man, center right, breaks down as he hugs a relative at airport upon his arrival from Jeddah, in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Jeff and Rebecca Moses from Manchester, arrive at Terminal 4 of London Heathrow Airport on a flight from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Monday, March 2, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

People arrive at the airport after being evacuated from the Middle East on a government flight, in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

An Indian man who was stranded in Dubai is welcomed by his relatives upon his arrival at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo)

An Airbus A380 from Abu Dhabi lands without passengers, in Munich, Germany, Monday, March 2, 2026, due to safety reasons as a cabin crew of at least 17 people would have been required to take passengers on board, which, according to Lufthansa, was not available and could not be flown in due to the massive restrictions. (Malin Wunderlich/dpa via AP)

Flight attendants and passengers arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, from Dubai, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A man celebrates as he arrives at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

People arrive at the International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, after being evacuated from Dubai on a commercial flight, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

An overseas Filipino worker sleeps as she waits for updates on her cancelled flight to the Middle East at Manila's International Airport, Philippines on Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Antonia, 5 years old, sits on suitcases upon arriving at the Henri Coanda International airport after being evacuated from Israel via Egypt on a commercial flight in Otopeni, Romania, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A man works beside a parked Emirates plane at Manila's International Airport, Philippines on Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A display in the arrivals terminal of the Henri Coanda International Airport shows cancelled flights originating in Middle East countries, in Otopeni, Romania, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

REO, Indonesia (AP) — Thousands of people waited for aid on the Indonesian island of Flores on Monday as the country marked its 81st Independence Day, two days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 68 people, injured more than 200 others and damaged thousands of homes.

Many residents on Flores island in East Nusa Tenggara province spent the day mourning victims while military teams tried to deliver food, clean water and clothing to inaccessible communities by plane.

The Saturday morning quake left widespread damage, with buildings collapsed onto parked cars, homes shattered and trees and boulders blocking roads.

“My house is just rubble now,” said Rasyid Jafar, a clothing trader in the village of Reo, the hardest-hit area in Manggarai regency. "We need food, medicine and clean water urgently.”

During Indonesia’s Independence Day ceremony in the capital, Jakarta, President Prabowo Subianto asked participants to pray for people affected by disasters in East Nusa Tenggara and other parts of the country, while leading a nationwide moment of silence honoring the nation’s independence heroes.

More than 4,500 homes were damaged when the quake struck Flores island early Saturday. Some 19,000 people were forced into temporary shelters and 213 people were injured, according to the National Disaster Management Agency or BNPB. The disaster also damaged 122 health facilities, 252 schools and 84 places of worship.

The province's governor declared a 14-day state of emergency on Sunday.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and residents fled in panic as tsunami warnings were issued but later lifted. Authorities have since recorded 1,576 aftershocks into Monday, though only 54 were felt by residents.

Thousands of people on Flores camped outside collapsed homes under tarpaulin tents overnight into Monday, sleeping outside because of the danger of more aftershocks.

For many residents, the disaster revived painful memories of a powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck Flores in 1992, killing about 2,500 people.

As thousands of survivors remain in need of food, shelter and medical treatment, the government said more than 1,800 military and police personnel have been deployed across the disaster zone, supported by 10 aircraft and several vessels, to distribute more than 100 metric tons of emergency aid.

Nearly 5,400 food packages, two field hospital tents, medicines and clothing were being delivered to communities across the disaster zone, as logistical challenges slowed deliveries to some hard-hit communities, national disaster agency Deputy Chief Abdul Muhari said in a video statement.

Authorities set up two emergency field hospitals in the worst-hit town of Ruteng to treat earthquake victims after local hospitals were damaged, with two crisis management teams overseeing a health emergency operation center, Muhari said.

He also said rescue teams continued searching for victims in the affected areas, although no residents have reported any family members still missing.

Aid workers reached tiny Palue Island, one of the areas closest to the earthquake’s epicenter, late Sunday, after a difficult sea and land journey through landslide-hit terrain, authorities said. Thousands of residents remained in urgent need of assistance.

"The roads are steep and many were blocked by landslides. It was a near-death journey,” said the deputy police chief of Sikka regency, Marselus Yugo Amboro, whose team was among the first to reach the island with emergency supplies.

He said initial assessments revealed extensive damage, with one villager killed, two seriously injured and nearly 150 homes destroyed.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes.

In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami on the island of Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people. In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 quake off Sumatra unleashed a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries, nearly 170,000 in Aceh province alone.

Karmini reported from Jakarta. Associated Press journalists Edna Tarigan, Dita Alangkara and Andi Jatmiko, in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this story.

An erthquake survivor receives medical treatment at a makeshift medical center in Reo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dicky Bisinglasi)

Earthquake survivors take shelter in tents in Reo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dicky Bisinglasi)

Saverinus Serli, left, inspects his earthquake-damaged house in Lelak, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

A man examines a building that collapsed during an earthquake in Reo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

A broken statue of Jesus Christ is seen inside an earthquake-damaged church in Reo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Earthquake survivors make fire to warm themselves outside their makeshift tent in Reo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

People take shelter in makeshift tent amid fears of aftershocks, following an earthquake in Reo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Motorists ride past a building that collapsed during an earthquake in Reo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)