About 8,000 Russians cannot return to Russia due to the situation in the Middle East.

About 6-8 thousand Russian tourists with tickets for connecting flights through the Persian Gulf countries cannot return home due to the temporary closure of airspace in the region. This was announced on March 1 by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

"At the moment, about 6-8 thousand tourists with tickets for connecting flights through the Persian Gulf countries cannot reach Russia," ATOR said in a statement.

It is noted that the time restrictions imposed by a number of countries, including the UAE and Qatar, affected not only direct flights, but also transit passengers. Many Russians used these countries as hubs for flights to Asia and the islands of the Indian Ocean. According to ATOR Vice President Artur Muradian, the majority of such tourists have tickets from Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Gulf Air and Oman Air.

ATOR clarified that the situation remains difficult, but solvable. Tour operators, including Space Travel, PAC GROUP and PAX, accommodate tourists in hotels where they are located. Some travelers, without waiting for the situation to normalize, purchase alternative tickets via Turkey or China.

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Yesterday, Dubai airports suspended operations indefinitely due to the escalation of the conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran. Passengers were advised not to come to airports during the restrictions and to contact their airlines to clarify departure times.

According to Aleksan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies (ATA), approximately 100,000 Russians are stuck in the UAE due to the escalating conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran. He noted that tourists who arrived in the Middle East themselves (not on tours from operators) will have to pay for their own accommodation and meals. According to Mkrtchyan, the difficult situation is likely to last for the next two days.

Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran on the morning of February 28. Later, Tehran fired rockets towards Tel Aviv. In addition, Iran attacked four US military bases in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Against this background, the United States began evacuating some personnel from the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar.

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