Countries around the world are still working to safely return nationals stranded bywar in the Middle East, with more evacuation flights set to take off in the coming days.
However, the situation remains challenging and flight schedules are likely to be disrupted for some time, with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth telling media Thursday night that the fight has "only just begun."
The first chartered evacuation flight carryinghundreds of American citizens arrivedin the US Thursday afternoon, flying from Abu Dhabi and landing at Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC.
Here's what travelers need to know.
Evacuations underway
Numerous countries have organized evacuation flights for stranded citizens. The UK's first evacuation charter flight from Oman landed Friday morning following a 24-hour delay. More charter flights have been arranged for the coming days, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told media Thursday.
European citizens have returned home to Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and Slovakia via at least six flights supported by the European Commisson, with additional repatriation flights planned in the coming days, according to a Thursday statement from the commission.
On Friday morning, Australia's foreign minister said four flights had already departed the region, with four more planned within 24 hours.
The US embassy in Israel announced it's nowoffering bus serviceto the Egyptian border for American citizens wanting to leave the country. The service will leave from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, taking Americans to the Taba border crossing.
Canadian nationals in Israel will be also be bused to the Egyptian border. In Beirut, limited numbers were being put on planes. The Canadian government was working to arrange charter flights out of the UAE as the airspace opened, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said at a press conference earlier this week.
New Zealand has sent two defense force planes to the region to potentially assist with evacuations.
What is the current aviation situation?
Thousands of international flights have been canceled each day since Sunday, according to data fromFlightAware.com, with the chaos likely to continue into the coming days for those still struggling to get out.
At one stage, more than 20,000 travelers were trapped in key hubs in the United Arab Emirates, home to major airlines, including Emirates and Etihad in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Thousands more were in Doha, the base for Qatar Airways.
All three of those cities are major global hubs, with millions of passengers transiting through them each year.
Emirates, which had suspended all flights to and from its bases, is now operating areduced flight schedule.
TheDubai Airports websiteadvises travelers not to proceed to the airport unless they have received a confirmed departure time directly from their airline.
Etihad Airwaysresumed a "limited commercial flight schedule" on Friday. "Guests with previous bookings will be accommodated on these flights as soon as possible," the airline's website says. Etihad is also selling tickets.
Qatar Airways' scheduled operations remained suspended through Friday. Operational updates will beposted here. However, the airline started operating a limited number of relief flights on Thursday departing from Muscat in Oman and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to aid stranded passengers. An update on Friday said the airline is working "around the clock" to organize more relief flights.
Israeli flag carrier El Al is working to repatriate its customers as well, with the airline's first rescue flight, from Athens, landing at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv Thursday morning.
El Al said Friday that it would begin carrying passengers, limited to 70 per flight, on its outbound flights from Israel starting the morning of Sunday, March 8.
"El Al will proactively contact customers who are not residents of Israel, are currently in Israel and whose flight home was canceled, and will assign them at no additional cost to the recovery flights departing to one of the 22 destinations to which EL AL is operating recovery flights," the airline said in asocial media post, which offered more details about how passengers would be prioritized.
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Outside the region, other airlines continue to reroute or cancel flights that had been scheduled to fly near the conflict zone.
German airlineLufthansa, for instance, has suspended regular flights to and from several destinations within the region. Lufthansa plans to resume flights to and from Larnaca in Cyprus on March 7, with flights in and out of some other affected destinations suspended through March 10 or beyond.
Affected travelers are advised to check with their airline or travel agent as soon as possible for information on rebooking and refunds, though airlines warn they are receiving high volumes of calls so wait times may be longer than usual.
Policies vary according to the airline, with options including refunds or fee-free rebooking.
What are governments advising?
The State Department has urged US citizens to leave a number of countries in the Middle East "due to serious safety risks." State Department security and travel information listed by country isposted online.
US citizens in countries including Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should fill out acrisis intake formto "receive departure assistance information from the Department of State about available aviation and ground transportation options," the department said.
Americans in countries not listed on the crisis intake site who wish to receive assistance can call the 24/7 hotline: +1-202-501-4444.
The State Department had earlier called on US citizens to depart "using available commercial travel" from Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Other nations have issued similar warnings as they work to assist stranded travelers in the region.
Canada's government posted a notice on X advising travelers to "leave the United Arab Emirates as soon as you can secure a flight option." It has also advised Canadians to avoid all travel to Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Palestinian territories, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE and to avoid nonessential travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The United Kingdom's government says British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestinian territories, Qatar and the UAE should register their presence to receive direct updates from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The Australian government has opened an emergency portal for citizens in Israel, Iran, Qatar and the UAE, and warned its citizens overseas to be prepared for serious travel disruptions in the days ahead.
Australians have beenadvisednot to travel to most destinations in the Middle East. This includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, the UAE and Yemen. They should also reconsider the need to travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
What about cruises?
Cruise ships in the regionhave also been affected, with thousands of passengers and crew waiting on vessels that have been waylaid in ports in the UAE and Qatar.
Among them isthe Mein Schiff 5, operated by Germany-based TUI Cruises, which is now in Doha Port after completing its itinerary. TUI has canceled other cruises scheduled to commence in the region in coming days.
TUI Cruises said that a special Emirates flight departed from Dubai to Munich with 218 guests from Mein Schiff 4, its vessel in Abu Dhabi.
Swiss-Italian operator MSC Cruises said its vessel, the MSC Euribia, is remaining in Dubai following guidance from US regional military authorities, according to Reuters.
On Friday, the company said in a statement that seven flights carrying MSC Euribia passengers had departed the region.
"These flights include dedicated charter services operated at MSC Cruises' expense, seats secured in partnership with Emirates and Fly Dubai on scheduled commercial services, as well as some government‑organised flights," said the cruise line, adding that travelers have been repatriated to countries including the UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, the US and Brazil.
CNN's Mitchell McCluskey, Kylie Atwood, Sharon Braithwaite, James Frater, Jennifer Hansler, Kaanita Iyer, Trista Kurniawan, Rhea Mogul, Maureen O'Hare, Rebekah Riess, Laura Sharman, Billy Stockwell, Francesca Street, Paula Newton, Dana Karni and Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report.
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