Oman has spent years cultivating a reputation as a quiet mediator in a turbulent Middle East, maintaining diplomatic ties with both Tehran and Washington and frequently serving as a vital backchannel between the United States and Iran, including in the days before U.S.-Israeli strikes hit Iran.
Now, as the conflict snarls air travel for thousands of people, Oman has assumed another critical function in the region. It has become an evacuation hub for the tourists, expatriates and business executives stranded in the adjacent United Arab Emirates.
For those trapped, the most viable way to get out of Dubai, where airspace had been partially closed amid a barrage of strikes during the first several days of the war, is driving nearly five hours east to neighboring Oman, where the international airport in Muscat, the capital, has remained fully operational. That land route is one of a few vital lifelines, as airlines struggle to reroute flights and foreign governments scramble to evacuate their citizens.
It was the best option for Vanessa Teske, a 30-year-old visiting Dubai from Munich. She realized it was time to leave when emergency alerts lit up her phone, urging residents to stay away from windows and seek shelter. After her flight out of Dubai was canceled, she and her partner rented a car with a private driver and headed for the Omani border.
“The drive itself was relatively calm,” she said. But crossing the border into Oman took more than an hour, with cars lining up to exit the Emirates.
While neighboring Gulf states have weathered repeated attacks as the fighting has escalated, Oman has remained largely insulated. Oman has criticized the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and its foreign minister told Washington “this is not your war” and warned attacks had undermined ongoing diplomatic efforts. The Oman state news agency cited the government as saying that it had come under drone attacks targeting its ports and one vessel near the port of Khasab in the Strait of Hormuz. Official statements from the government regarding those attacks did not explicitly blame Iran.
Dubai International Airport has been targeted by drones at least twice in the past week. So has the airport in neighboring Bahrain, where the airspace remained closed because of Iranian air attacks. Elsewhere in the Gulf, some residents and tourists in Qatar have opted to leave by land, crossing into Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed Ali Al-Mahrouqi, vice president of sales at Oman Air, said the number of passengers booking flights on the carrier has surged as travelers began arriving by land from neighboring countries. Most flights departing Muscat are now fully booked, he said, and ticket prices in some cases have tripled, because of skyrocketing demand.
Oman Air, the sultanate’s national carrier, said it added 80 extra flights and helped more than 97,000 passengers leave the region over the past week. The carrier urged passengers traveling by land to the airport in Muscat to arrive at the border crossings at least 12 hours in advance because of the increased traffic.
Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, said the government was working with foreign embassies and other airlines to organize flights helping travelers leave the Gulf.
“We mean everyone, whatever passport you hold,” he wrote on X on last Thursday. “People matter. Let’s stop the war now.”
Ismaeel Naar is an international reporter for The Times, covering the Gulf states. He is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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