Traveling through three Middle Eastern countries in one day, as evidenced by the entry and exit stamps in the passport; photo provided by the interviewee.
Blue Whale News, March 2nd, by reporter Sun Yu (Sun Yu). With the evolving situation in the Middle East, Ms. Zhao, currently waiting for her return flight in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, told Blue Whale News: 'I was previously stranded in Damascus, the capital of Syria, and have traveled through multiple locations to reach Istanbul.'
'When I was in Damascus before, I would hear about 5 to 6 explosions a day. This is now common across the Middle East.'
A Chinese tourist traveled through three Middle Eastern countries in one day.
According to CCTV News, on February 28th, the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran. In response, Iran retaliated against Israel and attacked multiple U.S. military bases across the Middle East with missiles.
As of March 1st, several neighboring countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, were affected by this military strike. Airspace in multiple Middle Eastern nations was closed, resulting in the cancellation of numerous flights.
The changes in flight schedules disrupted the travel plans of many passengers. 'I am now in Istanbul. Yesterday, I managed to flee from Beirut just in time,' Ms. Zhao, who began her personal journey to the Middle East in February, told Blue Whale News on March 2nd: 'I was previously trapped in Damascus. On the morning of March 1st, I heard foreigners mention that there were still flights available in Beirut, so I immediately packed my bags, arranged a ride with local Chinese expatriates, and traveled from Damascus to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.'
'After arriving in Beirut, I checked flight tickets and found availability fluctuating. I ended up booking all possible flights. After successfully securing my booking, I arrived in Istanbul in the afternoon of March 1st, preparing to take a subsequent flight back home. This ticket had been purchased months ago.'
Ms. Zhao stated that overnight, everything felt like it had turned upside down. Airfare prices surged, and tickets became extremely difficult to purchase. The entry and exit stamps in her passport showed that she had traveled through three Middle Eastern countries in one day: from Damascus in Syria, to Beirut in Lebanon, and finally to Istanbul in Turkey.
'Although emotions were tense, seeing little girls in Damascus smiling and waving at us made me feel happy. Locals may not even know what is happening, especially children.'
The ancient city of Damascus, photo provided by the interviewee.
On the afternoon of March 2, a Blue Whale reporter observed in a group chat for stranded passengers in Damascus that some travelers were attempting to purchase tickets on different flight routes but remained concerned about potential cancellations. One passenger commented, 'My flight scheduled for March 3 was canceled. You can buy tickets first; if it gets canceled, you will be notified.'
Wherever there is an explosion, flights definitely cannot operate.
The Blue Whale reporter noticed that several flight tickets involving the Middle East were still available for purchase on OTA platforms. However, local travelers informed the reporter that 'OTA ticketing information tends to lag. Currently, the most accurate information comes from word-of-mouth updates: wherever an explosion occurs, flights are certainly grounded.'
Ms. Zhao told the Blue Whale reporter, 'I flew from Beirut to Istanbul at 5 PM yesterday. Early this morning, another explosion occurred in southern Beirut, so whether Beirut will operate normally today like it did yesterday remains uncertain.'
If necessary, travelers would contact the OTA platform, but connectivity is challenging due to poor signals and long wait times for human operators.
As of now, multiple domestic airlines have initiated special handling procedures for tickets involving Middle Eastern routes. Several travel companies have also formed dedicated teams to activate contingency plans, proactively assisting tourists in canceling or modifying their itineraries.
Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and others have successively announced special handling measures for tickets on Middle Eastern routes. Within specified limits, tickets for flights involving the Middle East region can be refunded or rescheduled free of charge. Regarding hotel bookings, platforms such as Ctrip, Tongcheng, and Qunar have introduced bottom-line guarantees for orders placed before 5 PM on February 28 for hotels in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the UAE, Syria, and 14 other destinations with travel dates between February 28 and March 5. They will collaborate with merchants to cover cancellation losses.
CYTS and U-Tour mainly engage in outbound tourism services. On March 1, CYTS Aoyou Travel issued a statement confirming that all its tourists in the affected areas are currently safe. For group tours, customized trips, and related orders scheduled between February 28 and March 5 involving the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, and other countries, the company has activated emergency response mechanisms to actively assist travelers in canceling or modifying their itineraries.
The Blue Whale reporter learned from U-Tour that the company immediately activated its contingency plan for emergencies. After verification, all U-Tour tourists in the region are confirmed to be safe. U-Tour stated that it has established a specialized task force to monitor local developments in real-time, 24/7. For all orders booked before 5 PM on February 28 involving destinations in the Middle East (including Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Iran, Israel, Oman, Yemen, and other countries) with travel dates between February 28 and March 15, emergency support mechanisms have been launched. The company is fully coordinating resources domestically and internationally to assist travelers in canceling or modifying their itineraries while striving to minimize or assume user losses.
