#iran: Kiwis Caught in Middle East Crisis: Whānau Stranded, Workers Reconsider Overseas Futures

As conflict escalates across parts of the Middle East, the ripple effects are being felt far beyond the immediate war zones – including by New Zealand whānau stranded in transit, Māori workers questioning whether overseas contracts are worth the risk, and travel agents fielding desperate calls from those trying to get out.

With more than 4,000 flights a day cancelled across the region, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24, hundreds of thousands of passengers have been affected. Airports that normally serve as global transit hubs – including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha – have become choke points as airlines suspend routes, reroute aircraft and ground fleets.

Holiday of a Lifetime Turns Into Ordeal

One New Zealand whānau, who had been travelling through Europe on what they described as a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, now find themselves stuck in transit trying to get home.

Their original return route through the Gulf has collapsed amid cancellations and airspace closures. Travel insurance complications have added another layer of stress, with uncertainty over what is covered under conflict-related disruption clauses.

Now the family is considering driving across borders toward Saudi Arabia in the hope of securing a flight to Singapore and eventually home to Aotearoa. The problem, they say, is that thousands of others are attempting the same strategy.

Transit hubs are overwhelmed. Standby lists are long. Seats are scarce. Prices are climbing.

FIFO Work Under Threat

For Māori workers based in the Gulf, the crisis is not just about getting home – it is about whether there will be work to return to.

One Māori FIFO worker based in Muscat, Oman, operates in the Khazzan-Makarem gas field. Although Oman is geographically further from the direct theatre of military action, he has been told by the labour company managing his contract that work is likely to dry up for at least three months.

Energy sector projects are already feeling the impact of instability, with companies reassessing operations, scaling back production schedules, and delaying non-essential contracts.

For workers supporting whānau back home, a sudden pause in income presents immediate financial risk.

Sirens in Dubai

Another New Zealander based in Dubai works in logistics supplying operations connected to the North Pars Gas Field – linked to Iran’s Bushehr Province.

He says the moment that changed his thinking was hearing air raid sirens as drones approached the city. The experience, he says, forces a reassessment of priorities.

He now plans to return to New Zealand as soon as flights become available, questioning whether the financial incentives of overseas work outweigh the psychological toll of living in a region on edge.

Expats Racing for Airports

A wahine working in the travel industry in the Gulf says her phones have been running hot for days. People are trying to leave – but everyone is trying to leave at once.

She has heard accounts of expatriates driving to Abu Dhabi airport, abandoning luxury vehicles and hoping to secure standby seats. The highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi has been described as unusually busy, as residents attempt to position themselves closer to any available outbound flights.

Airlines are rerouting around restricted airspace, increasing flight times and operational costs. Some carriers have suspended services entirely.

MFAT and NZDF Monitoring Situation

On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that more than 1,700 New Zealanders are registered in the Middle East through Safe Travel.

The breakdown includes:

• 26 in Iran

• 71 in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

• 262 in Qatar

• 44 in Bahrain

• 225 in Saudi Arabia

• 27 in Kuwait

• One in Iraq

• 1,091 in the United Arab Emirates

The New Zealand Defence Force has approximately 60 personnel deployed across the region. Officials confirmed that no New Zealanders were injured in a recent strike against a United States military base housing around a dozen Royal New Zealand Navy personnel.

Economic and Emotional Toll

Beyond immediate safety concerns, the unfolding situation is raising broader economic questions. Higher oil prices and shipping disruptions are likely to push up global fuel costs, which may feed through to airfares and living costs in New Zealand.

For Māori whānau with members working overseas in energy and logistics sectors, there is both financial uncertainty and emotional strain. Overseas contracts often underpin mortgage payments, education costs and extended whānau support.

Now many are reassessing whether the risk environment has shifted too far.

As airports fill, flights vanish and sirens echo in cities once considered stable expatriate hubs, the crisis underscores how global conflict quickly reaches into the lives of ordinary families — from Ōtara to Oman, from Ūawa to the UAE.

For those trying to get home, the priority is simple: a safe flight, a clear route, and a return to the certainty of whānau and whenua.

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