BILLINGS— Air travel has been halted over the Middle East as a Montana native is waiting for a flight from Hong Kong to his current residence in Morocco.
Denton-born Brian Seilstad said Saturday afternoon that he had been waiting in the Hong Kong International Airport for close to 12 hours, due to the United States’ attack on Iran.
“I remember looking at the news and I saw the news, but it didn't really register for me until they basically just said, ‘Hey, the flight's canceled.’ And then they told everybody, ‘Get your bags and go out and kind of good luck,’” said Seilstad.
According to Flightradar24, air travel is closed in Israel, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Air travel is limited in Lebanon, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“The main thing is just the uncertainty. Is it going to clear up?” said Seilstad.
He said his travel agent is working on getting him an alternative flight through Europe, but he does not know if it will be hours or days before he gets back to Morocco.
“I hope I'm not going to be sitting in the airport for a week or something like that… but we'll manage in the short term,” he said.
“I always hope that we can see our world forward to a more peaceful future. Sometimes it feels that we're not quite going that direction. But one can always hope that there can be those opportunities as they arise,” he added.
