Hundreds of flights were cancelled after Iran launched drone and missile attacks on Israel on the night of Saturday to Sunday (April 13).
Countries in the region closed their airspace and major airports ceased operations entirely, while military jets patrolled the skies over Israel following the attack.
According to airport authorities, Sunday’s Wizz Air flights to London, Air India to New Delhi, Iberia to Madrid and Air France to Marseille were delayed. Stranded passengers turned to the public on social media to ask for help, The Mirror reports.
“Can a @Wizzair manager help a customer in Jordan?” Teddy Truneh tweeted on Sunday morning. “Have received no assistance whatsoever from your call center agents after my flight from Jordan was cancelled due to drone attacks in #Iran. I need help with refund/rebooking/accommodation.”
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The tweet was posted alongside a clip of a fiery object falling from the night sky over a city. They added: “Given the context (see video), I would appreciate flexibility on your part rather than telling me to read the terms and conditions on the website.”
Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Israel closed their airspace overnight after Iran fired over 300 drones and missiles from its own country at areas including Jerusalem. This was in response to an airstrike last week that killed two Iranian generals in Syria. Iran then accused Israel of the attack and vowed revenge.
The Israel Defense Forces report that F-35 fighter jets carried out a seven-hour raid last night, intercepting and shooting down Iranian drones and missiles over Jordan, Syria and Israel.
Although the airspace over these countries has now reopened, according to Flightradar24, thousands of passengers are struggling with lengthy delays. The Australian airline Qantas has cancelled its direct non-stop connection from Perth in Western Australia to London because it will not fly over Iran.
United Airlines has canceled a flight from Newark Airport in the US state of New Jersey to Tel Aviv. A flight from Moscow to Tehran was also diverted to Dagestan in Russia.
Russia’s Aeroflot has postponed flights to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
It is expected that Israel reopened its airspace at 7:30 a.m.
(04:30 GMT) on Sunday, but officials warned that flight schedules from Tel Aviv could be disrupted and travelers should check flight times before heading to Ben Gurion Airport.
