By Callum Keown

The U.S. government is urging Americans stranded in the Middle East to get home via commercial means. That's easier said than done.

More than 19,000 flights due to depart from or arrive in the Middle East, or 55% of those scheduled, have been canceled since Feb.28 -- the day the U.S. launched attacks on Iran, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium.

U.A.E., Qatar, Iran, Israel, Iraq and Bahrain appear to be the hardest countries to get out of -- more than 80% of flights leaving those destinations have been canceled.

Americans may find it hard to jump on U.S. flights out of the region, at least for the time being. Delta Air Lines has canceled flights from Tel Aviv to New York's John F. Kennedy airport through March 9. United Airlines is canceling flights to and from Dubai and Tel Aviv through March 8. United also warned of disruption until March 31 for travel from Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Dubai, Erbil and Tel Aviv. American Airlines issued travel alerts for those traveling through cities in U.A.E., Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, and Cyprus.

Airline stocks have tumbled over the past two days. The U.S. Global JETS exchange-traded fund has fallen 7.5% this week, as of Tuesday's early trading. That's more down to surging oil prices than the flight disruption that is being more severely felt by Middle East airlines and by European carriers that fly more frequently to the region.

Brits stranded in the Middle East may have a bit more luck. The U.K.'s foreign secretary Yvette Cooper told lawmakers Tuesday that a government charter flight will fly from Muscat, Oman to London in the coming days. She added that 130,000 British nationals in the region have signed up for the government's 'register your presence' program.

British Airways confirmed Tuesday that it has scheduled a flight from Muscat to London on March 5.

Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the European country was also scheduling evacuation flights, while three flights carrying Italian nationals are set to land in Rome and Milan Tuesday, AFP reported.

The State Department, Delta, United and American did not immediately to respond when asked if they were working on similar operations.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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March 03, 2026 11:38 ET (16:38 GMT)

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