00:00Stranded travelers are going to extreme lengths and often at a great cost to escape the widening
00:04conflict in the Middle East.
00:05Missiles, drones and interceptions have damaged airports across the region, forced airlines
00:10to cancel thousands of flights, and closed airspaces across hubs like Dubai, Doha and
00:15Abu Dhabi.
00:15That's left tens of thousands stranded, with many taking matters into their own hands.
00:20There are plenty of accounts of well-heeled crypto-millionaires and glamorous influencers
00:24being whisked away in fancy Range Rovers and private jets.
00:27But for many, it's involved taxis, hours-long drives across the desert, and large sums
00:32of cash.
00:33One pair had to pay $1,000 to a driver in an old Toyota to take them from Doha to
00:38Riyadh,
00:38where flights were still operating.
00:39A flight back to London then cost an additional $2,000.
00:42The disruptions since Iran's first retaliatory strike are spreading across the region.
00:47More than 15,000 flights have been canceled, including at major hubs such as Dubai and
00:51Doha.
00:52The cancellations will reverberate beyond the current period, because they leave planes
00:56out of position and crew members in the wrong locations.
00:59The US and the UK are now arranging special evacuation flights.
01:02In a sign that the situation is improving slightly, the UAE has been able to establish
01:06what it calls safe air corridors that will allow for up to 48 flights an hour.
01:11But with no end in sight to the Iran conflict, the situation in the skies across the region
01:16could change at a moment's notice.
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