‘From holiday to stress’: Swiss travellers stranded across Gulf region

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has temporarily suspended flights to the Gulf region. Keystone / Christian Beutler

Gulf states have closed their airspace as an emergency measure following strikes in Iran and retaliatory fire by the Islamic Republic. Thousands of travellers — including many Swiss nationals — are now stranded across the region.

According to the Swiss foreign ministry, at least 1,400 Swiss citizens are currently travelling in the affected countries. The Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) estimates that nearly 1,500 Swiss nationals are stranded abroad, mainly due to cancelled flights.

“Honestly, we’re extremely anxious because we’ve never experienced anything like this,” says a Swiss holidaymaker in Abu Dhabi, speaking after explosions were heard on Saturday near her hotel. “We’ve gone from holiday to constant stress. We don’t know what’s going to happen, we don’t know what to do… nobody knows,” she says.

Yasmine Yagchi is also stuck in Abu Dhabi. Just as she was about to board her flight, she received an alert urging her to seek shelter. She describes the difficulty of retrieving her luggage and the renewed fear when the same message arrived again in the middle of the night.

Bénédict Sapin from Fribourg, who lives in Dubai, is trying to remain calm, even though his family is visiting and the airport — the busiest in the world — was targeted by a missile. “Having missiles exploding above your head is always impressive,” he says. However, “we don’t feel particularly in danger,” he adds.

More than 1,500 flights to the Middle East were cancelled on Sunday — about 40% of scheduled traffic — according to aviation consultancy Cirium.

SWISS suspends flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv

The most affected airlines are Emirates (Dubai), Qatar Airways (Doha) and Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi). At Geneva Airport, these carriers usually operate two daily flights each to the region. Since Saturday morning, however, none has served the affected destinations.

Several other airlines have also suspended their flights for the coming days. Swiss International Air Line (SWISS) has extended the interruption of its services to Dubai and Tel Aviv: flights to Dubai are cancelled until Wednesday March 4 inclusive, and those to Tel Aviv until Sunday March 8 inclusive.

>>When evacuating Swiss nationals, the government often depends on foreign support:

The measures also affect flight routes. Until March 4, SWISS aircraft will not use airspace over the United Arab Emirates. Until March 8, the airline will also avoid the airspace of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain.

SWISS, part of the Lufthansa Group, says it is offering passengers refunds or free rebooking later.

Swiss helpline

Swiss nationals in the Middle East are advised to follow instructions issued by local authorities and to contact their airline or travel agency directly. They are also encouraged to register on the Travel Admin app.

The Swiss foreign ministry helpline is available 24 hours a day on [phone] / [phone] or by email at [e-mail]. Some Swiss stranded travellers told the Swiss public broadcaster RTS that the line was overloaded on Saturday, but the ministry says its capacity has since been increased.

The Swiss ministry has also broadened its travel advisories for the Middle East. It now advises against tourist and non-essential travel to Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Translated from French using AI/sb