Gulf states have closed their airspace as an emergency measure following strikes in Iran and retaliatory fire by the Islamic Republic. Thousands of travellers — including many Swiss nationals — are now stranded across the region. According to the Swiss foreign ministry, at least 1,400 Swiss citizens are currently travelling in the affected countries. The Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) estimates that nearly 1,500 Swiss nationals are stranded abroad, mainly due to cancelled flights. “Honestly, we’re extremely anxious because we’ve never experienced anything like this,” says a Swiss holidaymaker in Abu Dhabi, speaking after explosions were heard on Saturday near her hotel. “We’ve gone from holiday to constant stress. We don’t know what’s going to happen, we don’t know what to do… nobody knows,” she says. Yasmine Yagchi is also stuck in Abu Dhabi. Just as she was about to board her flight, she received an alert urging her to seek shelter. She describes the difficulty of retrieving her ...
