The conflict raging over West Asia feels very far away, until it isn’t. For over 200 people from Gujarat’s Mehsana-Patan region, the US-Israel-Iran standoff has reportedly returned an ordinary trip into an open-ended wait with no clear end in sight.
Businesses have shut too. Flights are grounded. And for many Gujaratis, the sudden spike in travel costs has made an already stressful situation harder to bear. Several had left home for short family or business trips, never imagining they would be stuck.
Three businessmen dealing in oil, gas, and scrap metal are among those confined to a hotel in Bur Dubai. Local authorities have told people not to venture out except for meals. About 50 other Gujaratis are in the same boat at a nearby hotel.
The three had hoped to wrap up early and head home. That didn’t happen. Planned visits to Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaimah, and Abu Dhabi had to be dropped entirely.
At home in Mehsana, people are worried. Rajya Sabha MP Mayank Nayak responded by setting up a helpline. Around 250 stranded Gujaratis, many from the Patel community, have reached out. He has passed on their details to the Ministry of External Affairs through the MEA’s Madad portal.
Vadodara MP Hemang Joshi and the Gujarat BJP have also opened helplines for those caught in the crisis.
The wait isn’t easy. Travel agents say departures are being cleared one by one, and return journeys are harder to pin down because of airspace restrictions. For now, hundreds of Gujaratis remain in limbo — watching the news, waiting for the call that says it’s safe to fly.
The ripple effects have reportedly reached home too. Earlier, international flights at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport have been cancelled or badly delayed.
The reason: airspace closures across parts of the region, leaving schedules in disarray with no quick fix in sight.
