The US and Israeli attack on Iran continued to cause severe disruption to flights throughout the Middle East and beyond on Sunday, creating uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of travellers.

Countries across the region closed their airspace, and three of the key airports that connect Europe, Africa and the west to Asia halted operations.

In response, the UK government is planning one of the biggest evacuations in its history. More than 76,000 British citizens have registered their presence in affected areas of the Middle East and this number is expected to rise.

Travellers were either stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain shut their airspace.

There were also no flights over the United Arab Emirates, the flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said, after the government announced a “temporary and partial closure” of its airspace. That led to the closure of airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, and the cancellation of thousands of flights by major Middle Eastern and global airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Dubai is the world’s busiest airport for international traffic.