Taba, a small resort town on Egypt’s border with Israel, has become a transit hub for Israelis and foreign nationals seeking to leave the country or return home after Israel closed its airspace amid its ongoing war on Iran.
Since Israel and the US launched their first strikes on 28 February, thousands of travellers have streamed across the Taba border crossing in both directions.
Some enter Egypt to catch flights to Europe and beyond, while others cross into Israel by bus after landing at Taba’s small international airport, which has been reopened to accommodate the surge in passengers.
The influx of passengers has turned the normally quiet Red Sea town into a busy transit point as governments evacuate citizens and airlines reroute flights across the region.
On 1 March, one day after the closure of Israeli airspace, the Israeli airline Arkia announced flights between Taba and Athens. Israir later said it would operate flights to Taba from six European destinations, in addition to several routes operated by a Cypriot and Greek carrier.
