On the 2nd (local time), the U.S. State Department cited a “serious security risk” and advised American citizens staying in the Middle East to “leave immediately.” However, with the airspace of several Middle Eastern countries now closed, about 1 million travelers, including Americans, are stranded in the region.

Mora Namdar, the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, said on X that “due to serious security risks, the Department of State strongly advises Americans staying in Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen to depart immediately using available commercial transportation.”

“Leave immediately” corresponds to the highest level among the travel alerts issued by the department. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that “the most powerful attack (by U.S. forces) has not yet come,” suggesting the possibility of launching large-scale airstrikes against Iran soon.

However, as a result of fighting among Iran, the U.S., and Israel, skies across the Middle East have been paralyzed, making it difficult for foreign residents and travelers to secure outbound flights. Starting that day, Etihad Airways and Emirates, as well as the UAE low-cost carrier flydubai, resumed limited operations, but this is far from enough to accommodate the mass of travelers.

According to aviation data firm Cirium, at least 11,000 flights in the Middle East have been canceled from the start of airstrikes on the 28th of last month through today, directly affecting about 1 million travelers.

Among them are roughly 58,000 Indonesians who had stayed in Saudi Arabia to visit the Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Medina during Ramadan, and 30,000 German tourists, CBS reported. The Guardian described the situation as the most severe aviation disruption since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Italy, the Czech Republic, and some other countries are sending chartered aircraft to bring their citizens home. The British government is reviewing all evacuation options, including charter planes, military aircraft, and buses, to transport about 100,000 citizens staying in the region.

The previous day, the Abu Dhabi Department of Tourism announced that it would cover additional accommodation costs for stranded travelers. Dubai authorities also instructed that the stays of isolated travelers be extended on existing terms, but some hotels are demanding extra fees, leading to continued confusion on the ground, The Guardian reported.