Flights grounded in Middle East: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic among airlines affected
Passengers continue to struggle to find flights in and out of the Middle East after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are among airlines affected by the disruption, which included airspace being closed as missiles continued to hit Iran - and as the regime responded with its own barrages targeting other countries.
The strikes have grounded flights to the Middle East, with all flights in and out of Dubai International and Al Maktoum International airport in Dubai suspended after they were reportedly targeted in retaliatory attacks from Iran, along with sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In the UK, British travellers and ex-pats in the Middle East have been told to shelter in place by the Foreign Office. Heathrow airport has advised travellers to check with their airline before starting their journey as the disruption continues.
Emirates and Qatar Airlines, two of the largest long-haul airlines in the world, are headquartered in the Middle East and are seeing severe disruption following the US-Israeli military operation in Iran and the resultant retaliation which have seen one person has been killed and 11 injured at airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Emirates has suspended all operations in and out of Dubai until 1pm UK time, while Etihad suspended flights out of Abu Dhabi until 2pm local time.
British Airways has cancelled services to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until Wednesday, with services between Heathrow and Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai or Tel Aviv set to be affected for several days.
While airspace is largely closed over countries including Iran, Israel, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria and the UAE, Saudi Arabia has seen some flights take place under a partial closure, while Jordanian and Lebanese airspace remains open, though with reduced flights.
Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic said it was suspending services between London Heathrow and Riyadh on Sunday after a shut down of trips to Dubai over the weekend.