Thousands of Brits have been stranded in Australia as the Gulf airspace shutdown enters its fourth day (3 March), after Donald Trump’s administration launched a series of devastating strikes in Iran that have killed hundreds of people and sparked fears of a wider regional war.
Airspace over the Gulf area remains largely closed to most flights, in what is becoming the largest global travel crisis since the Covid pandemic.
The Independent travel correspondent Simon Calder has issued an update from the ground in Sydney, where he spoke to stranded passengers and delivered his verdict on the likelihood of returning to a “coherent schedule” any time soon.