Stranded Brit holidaymakers face around-the-world journey to get house from Bali: Couple will journey 16,000 miles by way of US after flight house was cancelled because of Iran struggle

A British couple who were holidaying in Bali are travelling more than 16,000 miles around the world to get home as the Middle East war sparks travel chaos for millions of passengers.

Deaghlan O’Hagan, 39, and his partner Madeleine Little, 33, were due to leave Bali on March 1 – just hours after the US and Israel launched a co-ordinated attack on Iran in which the country’s supreme leader was killed.

Iran has responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied Gulf states, including Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, plunging the Middle East into a warzone.

The war has sparked one of the most serious disruptions to global travel since the pandemic, with widespread airspace closures and thousands of flights grounded across the Middle East.

Mr O’Hagan, was due to fly from Bali to Dublin via Doha – one of the world’s busiest airports – but he has been stranded in Indonesia since Sunday, spending £500 on living costs which he will not be compensated for as it is an ‘act of war’.

His partner, who had already planned to extend her trip to Australia, is currently in Sydney as her flight from Bali was not affected.

But the couple, from Belfast, will be reunited sooner than they thought as Mr O’Hagan has taken the extraordinary step of getting home by travelling more than 16,000 miles around the world via Sydney, Los Angeles, London and Dublin.

He said that he thought about travelling back to London via China but it was almost ‘double the price.’

Speaking to the Daily Mail from his hotel room in Bali, Mr O’Hagan said: ‘It’s been a disaster. As things are getting worse, I’ve decided to book flights the other way around the world.

‘I have booked a flight for Friday night to Sydney. We are then going to fly together from Sydney to LA, then we are going from LA to London and then London to Dublin.

‘We are literally going around the world the other way, I’ve had to pay it out my own pocket. Then I have to drive from Dublin to Belfast.

‘It’s going to be a very long trip. It’s going to take seven hours to Sydney from Bali, Sydney to LA is 14 hours, LA to London is 13 hours. And then there is the one and a half hour to flight to Dublin and the drive to Belfast. 

Mr O’Hagan described his ordeal as ‘very stressful’, explaining how he’s also had to obtain a visa for Sydney and an ESTA for LA. 

But he added: ‘I am paying for hotels every night – but I had to make decision to cut my losses.

‘If anything, things seem to be getting worse. What else can you do if the airspace is closed?

‘There’s backlogs of flights, there’s no guarantee you couldn’t be staying here for two or three weeks and paying accommodation and food.

‘The flights for both of us are in the region of £2,500 in total but we are taking a very long route home. I’ve spent another £500 this week in accommodation and food.

‘The insurance companies have also said they have no responsibility because it’s an act of war. It’s not really acceptable.’

Mr O’Hagan, a dual UK and Irish citizen, hit out at both the airlines and the UK and Irish Embassies for their lack of planning to get people home. 

‘It’s totally chaotic, it’s like there’s not been any contingency plan put in place even though so many passengers travel through Dubai and Doha, they are massive hubs.

‘If you are this side of the world, that’s how you get back.

‘The Middle East has a history of being unstable, you would think they would have contingency plans in place if that airspace is closed. It’s been left to people to work out.’

Mr O’Hagan said that he thought about travelling back to London via China but it was ‘double the price to go through Shanghai’. 

‘You are being exploited on both sides. Insurance companies say they don’t have responsibility, but airlines can price gouge,’ he said.

Mr O’Hagan is due to arrive in Sydney on Saturday morning but will not get back to the UK until Monday. 

‘I’m trying not to think about it,’ he quipped.

He also claimed that the Gulf states and influencers are claiming that everything is fine when the reality could not be more different.

‘There seems to be a lot of misinformation out there and propaganda that things are fine and the airlines are being very helpful,’ he explained.

‘It certainly hasn’t been my experience. The hands have been washed of you. When I look at Instagram, videos are popping up about how well people are being treated. I wouldn’t agree with that at all, we don’t get any communications.

‘It’s just been radio silence. It’s influencers and from the UAE, I think it’s actually a crime to be critical of the Government, so that feeds into the influencers. 

‘It’s almost like they’ve been told they have to do this. I don’t know if that’s the reality to the ground. Their tourism is going to be hit. It’s painting an image that I don’t think is correct.’

It comes as thousands of British nationals will arrive home from the war-torn Middle East on Wednesday as airlines ramp up flights out of the UAE and the Government charters its first emergency evacuation flight. 

The Government appears to be relying on commercial airlines to get passengers back home, chartering just a single flight from Oman with no plans in place for a wide-scale evacuation. 

British expats have been increasingly frustrated by the lack of urgency over getting them out of the Middle East – with British Airways running an emergency evacuation flight with more than 100 empty seats on Monday.

Despite around 130,000 Brits registering as stranded in the Gulf, around 100 pilots and crew members from BA and other airlines were flown from Muscat to Heathrow on Monday.  

As the war enters its fifth day, Emirates is today operating seven flights from Dubai to the UK while Etihad has two departures from Abu Dhabi. Virgin Atlantic will operate a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow.

British Airways announced it will operate two further flights from Muscat, Oman, to London Heathrow, departing on Friday and Saturday. 

But it remains unable to take-off flights from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv. 

The Government has also scheduled its first repatriation flight to leave Oman’s Muscat International Airport at 11pm local time (7pm GMT) tonight and will prioritise the most vulnerable Brits first as attacks continue to explode across the region.

British nationals and their spouse or partner, and their children under the age of 18, with a valid travel document are all eligible.

The Foreign Office said it would contact British nationals to secure them a way out of the Middle East, and urged people not to travel to the airport unless they have been officially called. 

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs on Tuesday that the ‘safety and security’ of British nationals was a ‘top priority’.