Flights in and out of Middle East cancelled and diverted after Iran strikes

EPA

Airlines are continuing to cancel and divert flights serving the Middle East after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are among airlines to have grounded flights to the Middle East.

Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport has urged travellers to check with their airline before setting out. All flights in and out of Dubai International and Al Maktoum International airport in Dubai have been suspended.

Iran responded to the strikes by launching attacks including on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UK Foreign Office has urged British nationals to shelter in place.

Iranian and Israeli airspace were both closed on Saturday.

At Dubai International four members of staff were injured in an incident on Saturday, according to the airport's spokesman.

Emirates has suspended all its operations in and out of Dubai until 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Sunday due to airspace closures across the region.

British Airways has cancelled services to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until Wednesday.

It said services between Heathrow and Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai or Tel Aviv could be affected for several days.

Sarah Short was due to return from a holiday in Dubai to Heathrow on Saturday.

"We got on the plane and were literally about to taxi when the pilot said: 'We have some bad news - we're not going anywhere'," she told the BBC. "We then sat on the plane on the tarmac for over three hours."

Virgin Atlantic said it was suspending services between Heathrow and Riyadh on Sunday after earlier cancelling flights from Heathrow to Dubai on Saturday and Sunday.

It warned on Saturday its flights to India, Saudi Arabia and the Maldives may take longer due to being rerouted around the affected region.

Wizz Air suspended all flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman up until and including next Saturday.

Qatar Airways has also confirmed the temporary suspension of flights in and out of the capital, Doha, due to the closure of Qatari airspace, later saying operations would resume at 19:00 local time on Sunday (16:00 GMT).

Flights that would have gone over the affected region have been diverted, causing delaysReuters

John Henry, 71, from Northampton, who is on holiday in Qatar, was at a shopping centre when they received an air raid alert on Saturday.

"We heard a bit of a thud and felt a tremor, and we saw a number of people moving quickly out of the shopping centre," he told the BBC.

Qatar's defence ministry said it had intercepted Iranian missiles after explosions were heard in Doha.

"You could see the vapour trails where they had hit," said Henry. "We've heard four or five additional thuds where something must have happened."

The UK Foreign Office is warning "against all travel to Israel and Palestine".

British people in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE have been told to immediately shelter in place, while those in Saudi Arabia have been told to "remain indoors in a secure location".

UK nationals in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Turkey and Oman have also been instructed to "remain vigilant" and take shelter if advised to do so.

The Foreign Office said British nationals in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE could register their presence to receive direct updates on the situation.

US President Donald Trump cited a failure to reach an agreement to limit Iran's nuclear programme and regime change as among the reasons for launching the attack.

The UAE also said it had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, while footage appears to show the moment a US facility in Bahrain was hit. Kuwait also said it had been targeted by Iranian missiles and drones.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chaired a Cobra meeting on the strikes earlier on Saturday.

A government spokesperson said: "Our immediate priority is the safety of UK nationals in the region and we will provide them with consular assistance."