Passenger recalls mid-flight return to Philadelphia as war with Iran closes airspace

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The war with Iran has triggered widespread travel disruption across the globe, canceling tens of thousands of flights and forcing some planes to turn around midair after airports in the Middle East were closed.

One of those flights was American Airlines Flight AA120, which departed Philadelphia just before 7:30 p.m. Friday bound for Doha.

Hours into the journey, passengers learned the flight would not reach its destination.

“I guess 7 hours into our journey, the captain made an announcement, ‘A war has begun, so the airspace has been closed and we need to head back,'” said Aaqil Mujiburrahman, who was traveling with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.

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What was supposed to be a trip from Philadelphia with a final destination to Dubai became a 16-hour flight back to Philadelphia.

Mujiburrahman said the plane had already crossed into European airspace before turning around.

“We had just crossed Spain somewhere along Casablanca, you could see the map, Casablanca was close. We made a turn in the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.

Passengers later learned mid-flight that the United States had launched an attack on Iran.

Airspace across parts of the Middle East has been closed since the weekend following the attack. Chaotic video verified by ABC News shows a drone hitting near the U.S. Consulate in Dubai. The State Department says all personnel there are safe and accounted for.

After rerouting, Flight AA120 touched down back in Philadelphia late Saturday morning. Mujiburrahman said he was grateful the plane was able to return safely.

“I kept telling my wife we are very grateful we had enough fuel. They made the right decision. The flight had enough fuel to come back all the way,” he said. “That’s the most important part — that we are back home.”

More than 9,000 Americans have made it back from the Middle East, though thousands remain stranded. The State Department told ABC News it is working to secure military aircraft and charter flights to help evacuate Americans still trying to leave the region.