From Dubai: The city I am writing from is, as of Sunday, almost unrecognisable. On a winter weekend that would normally see peak crowds on the beaches, in the malls and at the hotel brunches that define this emirate's global appeal, the highways are largely empty and the sky above one of the world's busiest airports sits silent. What has happened over the past 48 hours represents the most severe disruption to Gulf aviation in living memory, and for thousands of Australians caught in the middle of it, the question of how to get home has no easy answer.
The chain of events began with coordinated US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, triggering a swift and violent Iranian response. Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were among the nations that announced at least partial closures of their skies, forcing flight suspensions, cancellations and diversions that left tens of thousands of passengers stranded around the world. The scale was staggering. The conflict led to the closure of key hub airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, and the cancellation of more than 1,800 flights by major Middle Eastern airlines.
The human cost on the ground here in the Gulf was immediate. Passengers rushed to evacuate one of the world's busiest airports after a reported Iranian strike, as Tehran targeted travel hubs in US-friendly Gulf states typically regarded as safe, luxury destinations. Dramatic footage showed people fleeing a smoke-filled passageway strewn with furniture and debris at Dubai International Airport, where officials confirmed four staff had been injured. The damage was not confined to Dubai. A drone strike at Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport killed one person and injured seven, the airport said in a statement on social media. Strikes were also reported at Kuwait International Airport.
Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad cancelled 38 per cent and 30 per cent of their flights respectively on Saturday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium, while Qatar Airways suspended all flights from Doha with 41 per cent of all flights cancelled. The disruption extended well beyond the Gulf itself. International carriers that typically rely on transit hubs in the Gulf, such as Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad, suspended or altered long-haul services connecting Europe with Asia and the Pacific. Flights from Australia destined for Europe via Dubai or Doha were among those affected, with planes forced to divert or return to origin airports when airspace was abruptly shut.
For Australian travellers, the disruption was concrete and immediate. Virgin Australia confirmed that four Qatar Airways-operated flights bound for Doha rerouted back to Australia on Saturday night due to the closure of Qatari airspace, including services from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. A further seven flights were cancelled, including those arriving from Doha and others bound for the city. In South Australia, both Qatar Airways and Emirates cancelled their Saturday evening flights to and from Adelaide. The Qatar Airways aircraft in question, an A350 Airbus, typically carries around 250 economy passengers.
The Albanese government's response was swift on both the diplomatic and consular fronts. Australia issued "Do Not Travel" warnings for Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE as tensions escalated, and said it was urgently trying to verify if any citizens had been caught up in the conflict. A diplomatic crisis centre was established. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was direct in his message to Australians in the region. "Australians should leave now if it is safe to do so," the Prime Minister said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong offered a sobering caveat, indicating that airspace closures caused by Iranian retaliatory strikes are likely to limit the federal government's ability to organise repatriation flights for Australians stranded in the region.
Australia's consular position is complicated by the already-frayed state of its bilateral relationship with Tehran. Iran directed at least two attacks on Australian soil in 2024, targeting the country's Jewish community. In response, Australia took the unprecedented steps of expelling Iran's Ambassador, suspending operations at the Australian Embassy in Tehran, and listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a state sponsor of terrorism. With the Australian Embassy's operations suspended and consular assistance in Iran extremely limited, Australians who find themselves inside Iran now have virtually no official support network on the ground. The government's Smartraveller website has been updated with warnings across the region, urging citizens to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305.
Canberra has been unambiguous in backing the strikes that set this crisis in motion. The government stated it supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security. Albanese was equally pointed about the reported death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was responsible for the regime's ballistic missile and nuclear program, support for armed proxies and its brutal acts of violence and intimidation against its own people," the Prime Minister told reporters. "He was responsible for orchestrating attacks on Australian soil. His passing will not be mourned."
The regional dynamics at play are more complex than the headlines suggest. Critics of the military intervention, including some within Australia's academic and foreign policy community, have raised legitimate concerns about the risks of escalation without a clear post-conflict political framework for Iran. The strikes may have removed a destabilising leader, but they have also plunged tens of millions of Iranian civilians into acute uncertainty, disrupted a vast swathe of global aviation, and put Gulf states that have spent decades cultivating stability as a competitive advantage directly in the line of fire. Dubai's landmark Burj Al Arab hotel was damaged as overnight Iranian retaliatory attacks spread across the Gulf states and the wider Middle East, a symbolic blow to a city that has built its entire brand on being a safe, neutral crossroads for the world.
For Australia's energy sector, this signals a period of acute vigilance. The Gulf states account for a significant share of global liquefied natural gas supply, and any prolonged disruption to shipping lanes or infrastructure in the region could reverberate through the energy markets on which Australia both competes and depends. The Reserve Bank of Australia will be watching oil price movements carefully, given their historical tendency to feed into broader inflationary pressures.
There are signs that the immediate aviation crisis may have a partial resolution on the horizon. Qatar Airways said in a post on X that flight operations would resume at 1900 Doha time on Sunday. But aviation analysts caution against optimism. Airspace closures over conflict zones force airlines to reroute flights around restricted areas, adding significant distance, fuel costs and complexity to long-haul operations. Routes that once passed over the Middle East are instead being shifted south over Saudi Arabia or north via other corridors, extending flight times and increasing the risk of delays and cancellations. That will add hours to flights and consume additional fuel, adding to costs that airlines will have to absorb. Ticket prices could quickly start to increase if the conflict lingers.
What Western coverage frequently misses is the human dimension inside the Gulf states themselves. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are home to substantial communities of expats and long-term residents from all over the world, including tens of thousands of Australians and people with ties to Australia. Many are not tourists waiting to catch a flight home; they live and work there. For them, the strikes and the retaliatory attacks have brought a conflict they had watched from a distance directly overhead. The region has long prided itself on a certain insulation from the wars on its margins. That assumption has been tested severely this weekend. Australians caught up in this crisis, whether as stranded travellers or residents, deserve both the full weight of consular support the government can provide and an honest accounting of the risks that remain. Both sides of that obligation now rest squarely with Canberra. The Australian Parliament will inevitably scrutinise the government's handling of this consular emergency when it resumes, and the standard of accountability should be high, regardless of which party holds the dispatch box.