Nearly 300 Dutch travelers stranded in Middle East amid attacks on Iran

Nearly 300 Dutch travelers are stranded in the Middle East as tensions rise following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks, travel company TUI said Saturday evening. Thousands of other passengers are also stuck at airports across the region due to flight cancellations and airspace closures.

In Dubai, travelers waited in long lines for hotel vouchers amid widespread disruption. Dutch tourists Louwke van der Steen, 59, and Trui Knijnenburg, 67, described standing in line among thousands of other stranded passengers. “I’m starting to get scared. I hope they stop the attacks soon. People here heard the explosions,” Trui told AD. Around 4,000 passengers were reported stranded at Dubai airport, with at least 25 flights canceled. Airlines including KLM are offering hotel accommodations while travelers wait to return home.

TUI is working to return the nearly 300 Dutch travelers as quickly as possible and has temporarily canceled all trips to Dubai and Qatar through Monday. The cancellations will remain in effect as long as the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains an orange-level travel advisory.

“TUI fly Netherlands does not operate flights to this region, but we have travelers flying with other airlines,” the company said. “Travelers who wish to change their destination in the coming week can contact us. We are closely monitoring how the situation develops.”

The Dutch embassies in Tehran and Kuwait City will remain closed to the public on Sunday as a precaution following the strikes. Diplomatic operations continue, but appointments—particularly for visas to travel to the Netherlands—are being rescheduled.

Fighting continues across the Middle East as Iran launches missiles and drones at Israel and U.S. military positions in the Gulf, including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, following earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes. Explosions have been reported in Dubai, Doha, and Manama, as well as Israeli cities.

Iranian state media report more than 200 people killed and hundreds injured across at least 24 provinces, including casualties at a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been confirmed killed in the strikes, along with several senior Iranian military commanders, including high-ranking leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.