Airstrikes have stranded thousands of Americans who were traveling to or through the Middle East. Shanelle Kaul reports.
– This weekend, nearly all the airspace in the Middle East is closed or severely restricted. That’s left many travelers, including Americans, forced to find another way home. CBS’s Shanelle Kaul spoke to some of them.
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SHANELLE KAUL: Dubai, one of the busiest travel hubs in the world, targeted by an Iranian strike, flights throughout the region grounded, and passengers forced to evacuate. Chicago DJ Mixu Patel planned to layover in nearby Abu Dhabi on his way to India.
– Once I got to my gate there, all the flights are suspended because every single person got an emergency message saying, hey, there’s a possible missile strike. So if you want to cover yourself, stay away from windows.
– And so how are you as an American processing this?
– I’m usually used to seeing flood warnings or tornado warnings, but I saw that warning as a missile strike, that did scare me inside. I’m like, holy cow, it’s about to go down.
SHANELLE KAUL: A drone attack also damaged the Kuwait Airport, the escalation forcing Doha, Qatar, and Israel to shut their airspace.
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SHANELLE KAUL: This group of Baptist pastors from the US visiting Israel on a Bible study spent the weekend in and out of bomb shelters.
– We are essentially stuck.
SHANELLE KAUL: We spoke with Pastor Wes Church from Columbia, South Carolina. What are you going to do next?
– Well, the concern is, how long is it going to be before the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport opens up? So we have come south because from here, we can get across the border into Egypt or across the border into Jordan.
SHANELLE KAUL: Americans like Church now forced to take matters into their own hands if they want to get home soon.
– The adrenaline rush of what to do, where to go, what’s about to happen? Who do we tell? Are we going to the right place? How much time do we have?
– The US embassy in Israel announcing it will close tomorrow. The State Department now advising all Americans stuck abroad to have their own departure plans in place and not rely on the government for help.
Jericka.
JERICKA DUNCAN: Shanelle Kaul, thank you.
