Middle East airspace closure leaves South Africans in limbo

South Africans stranded in the Middle East and the Gulf will have to wait for airspace across the region to open in order to return home.
Department of International Relations and Cooperation spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, says the situation is affecting multiple countries and not only South Africa.

Airspaces are closed Mam. It’s impossible to move in or out of those countries. We are in touch with South Africans using various comms platforms. Our systems do work. Every country’s diplomatic mission have evacuations plans. Various interventions & options are being explored.
— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) March 1, 2026

Monyela says DIRCO does not have an exact figure of the number of South Africans in the affected areas, but added there are about 18-thousand of them registered with the mission in the United Arab Emirates alone.
The conflict in the Middle East has caused the biggest disruption to global air transport since the Covid-19 pandemic. Thousands of flights are affected, and busy hubs such as Dubai and Doha Airports have shut down.

PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA CALLS FOR DIALOGUE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND CONDENMS INTERNATIONAL LAW VIOLATIONS
President @CyrilRamaphosa and the Government of the Republic of South Africa expresses deep concern regarding the escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
These developments…
— The Presidency (@PresidencyZA) February 28, 2026

Related video| Middle East tensions disrupt flights

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