Canadians remain stranded across parts of the Middle East as the war involving Iran continues to disrupt travel, grounding thousands of flights and leaving some tourists scrambling to find a way home.
Global Affairs Canada says that as of Wednesday, more than 106,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents are registered in the Gulf region, a number that has been growing since Sunday.
Brothers Kimball and Ravi Sarin are among those caught in the disruption. The Canadians were supposed to leave Sri Lanka on Saturday after a month-long vacation, but their flight was cancelled amid the travel chaos.
“We had another flight. We’ve been refused twice at the airport,” Kimball Sarin told Global News.
His brother said the delays are becoming urgent. “I’m on medication and I’m running out. I only have a couple of days’ (worth) left,” Ravi Sarin said.
Ottawa says it has secured a limited number of seats on commercial flights from Beirut and is looking at other options.
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Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Israel’s Ministry of Tourism is operating buses to the Menachem Begin border crossing between Eilat and Taba, Egypt.
However, Anand said Global Affairs Canada is not currently offering assisted departures.
Will McAleer of the Travel Health Insurance Association said travellers in affected areas may have limited options.
“That means make sure that you’re understanding how you might be able to get out. Or if you’re in some of the affected areas where they’ve ceased all airline operations, that means you need to sit tight,” he said.
In Doha, where airspace remains closed, Canadians are waiting for conditions to change.
Stephen Lougheed of Queen’s University is with a group of students whose return from a field trip in Sri Lanka was interrupted when their trip home was grounded in Qatar.
“It’s closed air space because there are still missiles and drones flying,” Lougheed said.
The group has been staying in a hotel while considering whether they could leave by land, though Lougheed said the situation can shift quickly. “There have been some lulls in hostilities, but that can change on a dime,” he said.
A Quebec woman told Global News she has been calling her sister almost hourly since Sunday after she became stranded in Qatar.
Melissa Agathiadis says her sister, Stephanie Agathiadis, was supposed to return home on March 2 from a three-week trip to Thailand and Vietnam. Instead, Stephanie and her partner got stuck in Qatar during a stopover after airspace closures. “Missiles are flying left and right,” Stephanie Agathiadis said.
The Sarin brothers say they have now booked another flight to Toronto through Hong Kong on Friday, though they remain cautious.
“Scared to get too excited about going home yet, but we’re hopeful,” Kimball Sarin said.
The trip back to Canada is expected to take about 35 hours, if it goes ahead as planned.
