About 3,000 Russians cannot fly out of the UAE due to the situation in the Middle East.

About 3,000 Russians are unable to fly from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to airline disruptions due to the temporary closure of Iran's airspace. The Russian Consulate General in Dubai announced this on June 15.

It is noted that the disruptions in air traffic affected about 10 thousand passengers from Russia, most of whom have already departed or have been redirected.

"There are still questions about about 3 thousand people. <...> About 1,000 passengers are awaiting confirmation of new departures," reads a statement posted on the Consulate General's Instagram page (owned by Meta, a company whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

The Consulate General is in close contact with airlines and tour operators, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Federal Air Transport Agency continue to coordinate actions in the interests of Russians abroad, the diplomatic mission stressed.

As Irina, a passenger, told Izvestia, passengers of the canceled flight from Dubai to St. Petersburg are waiting for departure at the hotel for the second day and do not receive any feedback from the tour operator.

"We don't have any information, no one is contacting us. All flights to St. Petersburg have been canceled. At the moment, they are being exported to Moscow, Kazan, Sochi. <...> They don't want to rebook anything to us either, we write, we ask, some unsubscriptions come all the time," she said.

The woman noted that the Flydubai airline provided her and other passengers with hotel accommodation. According to her, about a hundred people are waiting to fly to St. Petersburg with her.

In turn, passenger Tatiana told Izvestia that some of the passengers on the cancelled flight from Dubai to St. Petersburg were forced to solve their own problems with accommodation while waiting for departure. According to her, the travel agency ignored her requests for help — the woman had to pay extra for the hotel on her own.

"My job is idle, I will have absenteeism. <...> I get a surcharge for the hotel here, either I'll sleep on the couch in the lobby, or I'll pay extra myself. The travel agency has not paid for anything, it does not give any information," she explained.

The woman clarified that she had called the hotline and communicated with the hotel guide — instead of providing real help, she was informed that the company was "working" on the situation. Tatiana added that the airline Flydubai had sent her a ticket to St. Petersburg on June 18. It is still unknown whether the woman will be able to fly on this flight.

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The day before, passengers of cancelled flights from the UAE told Izvestia about the situation at airports. In their opinion, the travel operators were negligent towards the passengers.