Pretoria has advised its nationals to take "immediate advantage" of the limited commercial flights and leave the region

South African nationals have begun returning home from the Middle East after the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) urged them to leave the conflict-hit region.

While earlier airspace closures created a crisis for thousands of travellers, major carriers such as Emirates and South African Airways (SAA) are resuming operations, with flights expected to return to 100% capacity soon. 

Airspaces across the Gulf region were closed due to severe regional instability caused by US-Israel strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliatory drone and missile attacks. 

These actions prompted nations to close airspace to protect civilian aircraft from risks of being caught in or targeted by missiles and drones.

However, major airlines have recently resumed limited commercial and relief flights following severe regional airspace closures.

As a result, DIRCO has asked South African citizens to evacuate the Middle East immediately and take "immediate advantage" of limited commercial flights to return home, as intense fighting is expected to continue. 

At least 150 South Africans, many of whom were on pilgrimage in Jerusalem, have already been repatriated via African carriers such as EgyptAir.

Hundreds of citizens stranded in Dubai began returning this weekend after the UAE partially reopened its airspace. Emirates has reportedly resumed three daily flights to South Africa.

Media personality Spitch Nzawumbi took to social media to share his expressions following his arrival in South Africa on Friday. 

Nzawumbi said he was safe after he caught the first flight in the morning. "If there are any South Africans in the Middle East who are desperately trying to fly back to SA, please share with them that Emirates Airlines has confirmed that they have limited scheduled flights travelling to South Africa from Dubai," he said.

Nzawumbi advised that travellers should not go straight to the airport without receiving their booking confirmation, due to the overwhelming number of people who are trying to fly out to other destinations and consistent cancellations. 

"Those who have been put on standby should try to arrive much earlier than the scheduled times with manageable luggage."

A traveller also took to social media to share her family's experience while travelling from Durban to Amsterdam. She said this also affected them financially. 

By the time they got to the airport, all Dubai flights were cancelled. "At that moment, we had no clue what was happening and were just upset about the cancelled flight. Now, looking back, we are so thankful it happened just before," said the traveller, adding that the family would have been stuck had the conflict occurred hours later.

READ MORE: African states evacuate diplomats from Iran

"My heart goes out to all the travellers who are still stuck, especially because we learned that an act of war is not covered by anybody. The airline will (hopefully) only pay back the unused tickets and the travel insurance does not cover anything in this case. My family's trip all of a sudden got a lot more expensive, and I keep thinking about the people stuck in Dubai. 

"From what I read, Emirates has put the people in hotels (with hopefully some meals covered), but they are still stuck in the most expensive city in the world. Even if some meals and the hotel are covered, there are still things you need. Especially those people who were there on a stopover might have a big problem. They have been stuck for six days already! It's a bad city to get stuck in, not to mention the reason why they are stuck," she said.

Meanwhile, more than 6,400 South African citizens in the Middle East have registered their presence on DIRCO's Travel Smart system.

Asked how many people are still stuck, Ministry spokesperson Chripin Phiri said this is a terrain for Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Public Diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, who did not respond. 

The ongoing conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran has seen further escalation following statements from President Donald Trump and Iranian officials.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Trump declared on Truth Social that Iran will be "hit very hard". He signaled a major expansion of the military campaign, stating that areas and groups previously not considered for targeting are now under consideration for "complete destruction". 

He reiterated that he is not interested in negotiating with the Iranian leadership, stating that the war might only end when Iran no longer has a functioning military or any remaining leadership in power.

Trump also demanded an "unconditional surrender" from the Iranian regime. However, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected this demand, calling it a "dream" and asserting that Iran will not hesitate to defend its sovereignty.

The Iranian health ministry reported that US-Israeli airstrikes have killed over 1,332 people, including roughly 200 children, since the start of the campaign.

First published by IOL