Imagine being on a plane, everyone “just settled in”, “reading a book” and you have no idea what’s going on outside until you realize that you might not get to your destination at all because a “war” situation has suddenly developed. What was supposed to be a routine trip for the Indian CEO traveling from Delhi to New York via Kuwait turned out to be a “never imaginable” situation with a day full of uncertainty as all flights to and from the Gulf countries were suspended amid clashes between Israel, the US and Iran.
In a long-winded post on X, Indian tech entrepreneur Sanjay Varnwal recounted his ordeal about how everything felt “absolutely normal” when his connecting flight took off from Kuwait to New York on Saturday, February 28 — the day the US-Israel strike hit Iran.
“Then, about 45 minutes in, the pilot announced in the air that because Iraqi airspace had suddenly closed, we couldn’t go forward. And in the air, the flight went back to Kuwait. It was a little annoying at the time. I didn’t realize what a mess I was getting myself into,” Varnwal wrote on X.
Hours after the joint strikes hit Iran, the Islamic Republic launched retaliatory strikes, with explosions reported in Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and other key centers in West Asia.
“Probably just land 3 hours later…”
Varnwal said he initially suspected a technical problem and assumed the airline was hiding details, expecting only a small delay. “Okay, okay, I’ll probably just land in New York three hours later…” he thought to himself, writing that even after returning to Kuwait the gravity of the situation hadn’t fully hit him.
At the airport, he said, even airline employees seemed unclear about scheduled departures until news broke of escalating tensions between Iran, the United States and Israel.
“But with these conflicts in the Middle East always in the news, I thought it was routine, nothing to worry about,” the Indian businessman wrote.
Passengers were later rebooked on the same flight with an adjusted departure time of 13:30 (local time) and boarding passes were reissued. However, the flight did not take off.
Around 3:00 p.m., airline staff informed passengers that flights had been suspended indefinitely, which was when Varnwal realized he was stuck.
Two hours later, Varnwal and other passengers for whom Kuwait was a transit point were told that the airlines would provide them with hotels.
“Finally, around 10pm, we were all checked into 3-4 hotels in the city. And that’s how one of the most interesting days of my life ended. Now I’m stuck here, waiting for airspace to open, there’s a war outside! Big thanks to my friends and the Indian embassy for always being there and being so helpful. So proud to be an Indian,” wrote the businessman.
Flights to the Middle East affected, passengers stranded around the world
— Eighty-four MBA students and four faculty members from a Pune-based institute were stranded in Dubai on Sunday due to an airspace closure triggered by the West Asian conflict, PTI reported.
— The closure of Dubai Airport, which serves as a key transit point for several international routes, affected travelers worldwide.
New Delhi, India – March 1, 2026: Passenger Mohd Umardaraz from Bijnor Uttar Pradesh, his flight to Kuwait is canceled at Delhi Airport Terminal-3. About 100 international flights from Delhi have been canceled due to widespread airspace closures in the Middle East due to recent airstrikes in the US-Iran-Israel conflict in New Delhi, India on Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times) (To go with Aditya’s story)(Hindustan Times)
Swiss International Air Lines said on Sunday it was extending the suspension of flights to and from Dubai until and including March 4, “due to the ongoing tense situation in the Middle East”. Flights to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended until and including March 8, SWISS added.
