War in the Gulf: Who Really Pays When Skies Go Silent?
On Saturday morning, 28th February 2026, Iranian missiles hit the Gulf. Within minutes, Dubai International Airport — one of the busiest airports on Earth, handling 92 million passengers a year (that's 9.2 crore people, more than twice Bangalore's entire airport handles at 4.38 crore) — went completely dark. One takeoff or landing happens every 72 seconds at Dubai. All of it stopped.
Within hours, Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi went offline together. Over 12,000 flights were cancelled in just three days — that's 40% of all planned departures. More than one million passengers (10 lakh people) were left stranded in airports with nowhere to go.
Here's why this hit so hard. The airspace over Iraq and Iran is the main highway in the sky connecting Europe to South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Afghanistan) and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and others). Three Gulf airports — Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi — move 90,000 transit passengers every single day. Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad together earn over US$ 68 billion a year. When war started, dozens of airlines pulled out overnight. At least 145 planes already flying mid-air turned around and came back.
Now here's the part most people miss — and as Al-Jazeera reported, this is where the real damage begins. When skies close, it's not just passengers who suffer. Air cargo — goods transported by aircraft — carries 35% of global trade by value. That's over US$ 8 trillion worth of goods every year, even though it's less than 1% by weight. What moves through the air? Vaccines with strict expiry dates. Semiconductors (the tiny chips that run your phone, your car, your TV). Fresh produce that spoils within days. Aircraft parts. Life-saving medicines. Things the world simply cannot wait for.
When this airspace closed, factories slowed, medicine deliveries got delayed, and supply chains across continents got disrupted. Airlines forced to reroute around Iran face up to 90 extra minutes per flight — at US$ 6,000 per hour in operating costs, that's serious money. Add to this that Brent crude (international oil price) jumped 4.5% after the airstrikes. Airline stocks fell across Asia and Australia. Airlines pass every rupee of that cost to passengers. Ticket prices go up and stay up for months.
But the sharpest pain fell on a group nobody talks about enough.
In Dhaka, Kathmandu, and Bali, departure halls filled with migrant workers — construction workers, drivers, domestic helpers — all heading back to their Gulf jobs. No flights meant missed contracts, docked wages (money deducted from salary for missed days or late reporting), and days without income. In the UAE, more than 60% of migrants earn under US$ 1,360 a month. Every day without work is a crisis.
The numbers tell the full story. Gulf-based Indian workers send home roughly US$ 49 billion every year in remittances (money sent home). Pakistani workers send over US$ 17 billion. Bangladeshi workers in the Gulf, US$ 11 billion.
When the Gulf shuts down, the pain doesn't stay at the airport gate. It travels thousands of kilometres — all the way to a family sitting at home, waiting for a wire transfer that never comes.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
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Karnataka: Elderly man dies after his car catches fire
Chikkaballapur (Karnataka) (PTI): A 70-year-old man died after his car caught fire, leaving his body charred, police said on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Uday Kumar, a resident of Raghuvanahalli on Kanakapura Road in Bengaluru, they said.
The incident occurred near Achepalli Cross in Bagepalli taluk of Chikkaballapur district on Sunday when he was returning after visiting his mother in his native place, police said.
Local police were alerted by passersby who noticed the car on fire. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the blaze. However, the flames had spread rapidly through the vehicle, resulting in his death. Later, his charred body was recovered from the car, police said.
Citing preliminary investigation, a senior police officer said it appeared to be a case of suicide as investigators did not find any evidence indicating an accident or a mechanical fault in the car that could have triggered the fire.
"However, teams have collected samples and other evidence, and further investigation is underway to ascertain whether there was any technical fault that led to the fire," the officer said.
