The air situation over the Arabian Gulf stabilised around midnight, after forcing thousands of travellers from Kenya, including several Italians, to wait to depart from Nairobi and Mombasa or remain stranded in transit areas such as Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Jeddah. This is one of the “side effects” of something obviously more damaging and disturbing, such as a war which, fortunately, in its latest developments is not causing civilian casualties, unlike the conflicts between Israel and Iran and between Israel and Gaza.

In any case, it is not known whether, thanks to the ceasefire announced by Donald Trump at 6 a.m. this morning or to agreements reached between the Emirates and Tehran, the airspace has gradually reopened. The last to do so was Doha, where the American base in Qatar, the most important in the Gulf, had been hit.

At Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, many Italian nationals waited from late afternoon until late at night to board flights to Dubai, while those bound for Doha were accommodated in hotels and are expected to depart this morning.
There were also delays and disruptions on arrival, with cancellations and knock-on delays affecting other airlines.

Watamu entrepreneur Daniele Tiritò called us from Jeddah, where he was in transit but was stuck on the plane for several hours, unable to choose any alternative solution, including returning to Kenya.
‘We are stuck here, waiting for airspace to clear so we can reach Singapore,’ Tiritò told us. ‘Ethiopian Airways flights are still arriving here in Jeddah, but rebooking is not guaranteed.’ Finally, around midnight, the transit airspace over Bahrain was reopened and Tiritò's plane was able to take off.
In Europe, the situation was monitored in real time, with cancellations and delays scheduled for 24 hours. Many Qatar, Emirates and Etihad flights that were due to depart yesterday will now depart this morning, with the necessary precautions in place, especially with regard to connections.