'My hotel bill is £12,000': British holidaymakers stranded by Iran war

British holidaymakers have told the BBC they are stranded abroad after their flights were cancelled when the US-Israeli war with Iran broke out.

Airspace remains severely restricted following missile strikes across the Middle East meaning commercial flights through major hub airports have been grounded.

Some British travellers are trapped in far-flung locations facing bills for accommodation, food and essentials which may not be covered by their travel insurance.

Andrea Pendrey and her partner were on holiday in the Maldives before she was due to begin treatment for breast cancer.

They were due to fly back on Sunday 1 March - hours after the war broke out - and arrived at the airport to find their flight cancelled.

"Emirates just told us we need to find a room, at our own cost and the airport was filling up with more and more people," says Andrea.

They managed to find a resort but it has come at a huge financial cost.

"We reckon we'll have forked out an extra £12,000 by the time we leave," Andrea says.

Her partner lost his job before the holiday.

"The money is stressing me out," she adds. "We've just had to put it on a credit card."

There is no standard definition of what travel insurance providers must cover in these situations so any claim for additional expenses will depend on the wording of each policy.

Extra compensation is only payable when an airline is at fault, which is not the case with travel difficulties caused by the current conflict.

Andrea's treatment was due to start last Thursday in the UK.

"I'm trying not to think about it too much. I need to get home for my chemo. It's not helping being here," she says.

The couple spent hours every day for almost a week trying to rebook onto rescheduled flights but with no luck.

Andrea's insurance company eventually classified her as a medical emergency - and they are due to fly back to the UK via Frankfurt on Monday.

"Even though this place is paradise, we've been crying and feel really upset," she says.

Ashley Jones, 26 and his partner Trang Nguyen, 25, were on a two-week holiday in Ko Samui and Bangkok, Thailand.

But he says the outbreak of war "ruined" the last week of their holiday.

"We started panicking about how we'd get home and fearing we'd run out of money."

The couple from Crawley, West Sussex were due to fly back to the UK on Sunday.

But their flight was cancelled. Ashley says he had no alternative but to accept a rescheduled flight as British Airways told him all other flights were "fully booked" until 28 March.

They are due to fly in the early hours of Friday but Ashley says he is not certain the flight will go ahead.

"It feels dodgy," he says. "I don't want to go via Muscat (the capital of Oman) and have a two-hour layover - it's a war zone," says Ashley. "The UK Foreign Office advises against going to Oman."

Ashley says he spoke to his travel insurance company, his airline and travel agent and "they all passed the buck."

"We were essentially homeless. Luckily my family had provided some funds to push us through," he says.

"But both our families are worried about us travelling to the Middle East."

Retirees Debbie and Ardon Rainbird from Northallerton, in North Yorkshire, flew out of Manchester on 17 February for a two-week tour of Sri Lanka.

They were due to fly home on Tuesday 3 March through the Qatari capital, Doha. Their flight was cancelled when the conflict started.

"Ultimately we've been away for a month when we were supposed to be away for two weeks," says Debbie, 63.

They are staying in a basic hotel which costs $160 per night for dinner, bed and breakfast and are handwashing their clothes. There are about 20 people on the same tour

"Few of us can find out if we are covered on insurance and only receive auto replies to any questions. We all miss our loved ones and wish to return home," Debbie says.

Debbie contracted a respiratory tract infection and has had to pay doctors' fees, while some elderly holidaymakers had to buy medication when they ran out.

Despite the stressful situation, she says the group are getting on "really well". Debbie has been setting a quiz and a fellow traveller has been leading daily Tai Chi sessions.

Their tour operator, Distant Journeys, has now secured a charter flight leaving on Sunday night.

"The flight hasn't been confirmed and we don't know the time but we are keeping everything crossed," she says.

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