South Africans scramble for flights amid air travel chaos

As the Middle East conflict disrupts global travel, thousands of flights have been cancelled, creating the most significant aviation disruption since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The airspace closure over Israel and restrictions affecting neighbouring countries have forced airlines to cancel flights or reroute services, leaving travellers scrambling to find alternative ways home. With limited repatriation flights and disrupted schedules across major Middle Eastern hubs, many are attempting complicated, multi-country journeys in order to reach their destinations. 

For Tel Aviv resident Adam Marks, 25, the travel uncertainty wasn’t going to stop him attending his sister’s wedding in South Africa. 

After learning that Israeli airspace had closed, Marks began searching for alternative routes. “I’m prepared to try anything to make it to my sister’s wedding in Johannesburg,” he told the SA Jewish Report. 

Travel coordinators Shana Chrysler and Debbie Ogus, together with Israeli tour guide Rabbi Gary Rogoff, put together an unconventional route out of the country for Marks and 45 Yeshiva students from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe. 

The intricate plan involves buses, border crossings, exit and entry visas, cash in multiple currencies, taxis, and multiple flights across several countries. 

Marks began his journey by bus on Wednesday, 4 March, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, before boarding another bus heading south through the night towards the Egyptian Taba (Menacham Begin) border near Eilat. 

After crossing into Egypt, Marks is expected to be met by a taxi driver who will drive him about two hours to Taba International Airport. 

From there, he’s scheduled to board a repatriation flight operated by Arkia Airlines to Athens, Greece. From there, he plans to connect to an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Ababa, later departing for Johannesburg. 

If the itinerary proceeds as scheduled, he’s expected to arrive in Johannesburg on Friday morning at about 05:00 after travelling for almost two days. 

Marks said the complicated trip was worth it if it meant attending his sister’s wedding, where he is to be the master of ceremonies. “I would literally go through multiple countries to be at Tammy’s wedding,” he said. 

The route through Egypt carries a symbolic twist as Passover approaches, he said. 

“It’s crazy going back into Egypt just weeks before Pesach where we spent 40 years wandering in the desert,” he said. 

Lily Fisher, 75, and her partner, Tony Newman, 78, of Johannesburg are stranded in Thailand after their flight from Bangkok to Johannesburg via Doha was cancelled. 

The elderly couple had been holidaying in Phuket, “a trip of a lifetime”, when the Middle East crisis escalated and airspace closures began affecting international flight paths. 

Their connecting flight from Doha to Johannesburg was cancelled, leaving them unable to complete their journey home, essentially leaving them stranded in a foreign country with limited funds. 

“They are afraid, anxious, and extremely worried,” said Fisher’s daughter, Amanda Garber, speaking from Los Angeles. “They literally have no place to stay, and the few available flights are prohibitively expensive as so many travellers are stuck, desperate to get onto any flight,” she said. 

“Right now they need to find an affordable place to stay; it’s very scary for them,” she said. 

Travel organisers and tour operators have been coordinating border transfers and airport connections for those willing to undertake long journeys. South Africans leaving Israel can also go through Jordan. This involves travelling north to the Jordan River crossing near Beit She’an, before continuing by road to Queen Alia International Airport in Amman. 

Border processing can take between 90 minutes and two hours, after which travellers are met on the Jordanian side by a bus or driver. From there, the journey to the airport in Amman takes approximately two hours. 

The total journey usually takes between five and seven hours. 

The costs of going through Egypt and Jordan are considerable. 

“In these extraordinary times, people are willing to go to great lengths to get themselves or their loved ones home,” said Rogoff. 

Another traveller caught in the disruption was Noah Greenhill, a South African who lives in Israel and was attempting to return there when the conflict erupted. 

Greenhill had boarded Ethiopian Airlines flight ET414 from OR Tambo International Airport early on Saturday, 28 February. 

“While we were on the runway about to take off, my kids in Israel messaged to say they were going into the mamad (safe room). There were sirens,” he said. 

With no connectivity during the flight, he was unable to contact his family. 

“It was the most anxious flight I’ve ever had. The nightmares of what might or could happen to my kids. I wasn’t worried about me but about Israel and specifically my children being safe,” he said. 

When he landed in Addis Ababa and connected to Wi-Fi, his phone filled with messages and he discovered the war had broken out and flights to Tel Aviv had been cancelled. 

Greenhill returned to South Africa, where he is waiting for information on when flights to Israel will resume. 

Kim Kur, founder of Community Circle SA, said she has been receiving countless messages from anxious travellers seeking assistance. 

One woman who travelled to Dubai to visit her husband found herself unable to return to her young children in South Africa as planned. According to Kur, the woman faced an additional challenge when her psychiatric medication began running low. “Because such prescriptions must be issued by a doctor in the country where they are dispensed, arrangements had to be made for her to obtain a new prescription locally,” she said. 

In another case, two young South African travellers in Dubai found themselves running short of funds while waiting for flights. “Because they were staying in an Airbnb rather than a hotel, they didn’t qualify for a Dubai government programme offering extended accommodation to stranded travellers,” said Kur. 

One traveller wrote to Kur. “I feel as though I am back in COVID-19, just with a higher anxiety. Do you have a contact in Dirco [Department of International Relations and Cooperation]? I’m stuck in Dubai and, as you know, I depend on my meds. I have enough for a few days, but need to get back.” 

National director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) Wendy Kahn said the uncertainty about the duration of the war has been particularly difficult for community members. 

She said that during the previous conflict between Israel and Iran there were more options available for travellers to leave Israel. “This time, in addition to Israeli airspace being closed and neighbouring countries restricting flights, land routes have also become more difficult,” she said. 

The SAJBD has urged South Africans currently in Israel to follow the guidance of the Israel Home Front Command, including adhering to alerts and remaining aware of shelters. 

The government has put out security and travel readiness guidance for its citizens in Israel, including numbers for consular services. The SAJBD will assist if needed.