Stranded passengers in the Gulf states are waiting for a phone call confirming their flight home, but few celebrate until the plane has cleared Emirati airspace. Zoe Jackson, who was on one of the first flights out of Dubai on Tuesday, said it was an eerie feeling on the plane. Meanwhile, dozens of repatriation flights were due to leave Dubai on Wednesday. In hotels, strangers exchange updates on flights and the odds they will actually depart. Travellers are debating whether to attempt overland journeys rather than risk further cancellations at major hubs. James Gaskin was stranded in Dubai when he got stranded in India and had to use his corporate credit card to get a seat home.