Tourist left stranded in Thailand by Iran war

A British holidaymaker says he has been stuck in Thailand for 11 days longer than planned because of the war in the Middle East.

Paul Lynn, from Chester-le-Street in County Durham, was due to fly from Bangkok on 7 March, but his flight home via Dubai and Dublin was halted by the conflict.

Lynn said, since then, he had been given severalnew flight times by his Dubai-based airline, Emirates, all of which were then cancelled or rescheduled, four of them in a 24-hour period.

Lynn said he was not sure how the company could keep its promise of looking after passengers when it was "going to fly us into a war zone". Emirates said it did not operate direct flights from Bangkok to Dublin.

Lynn had gone to Thailand for a two week holiday with a friend from Dublin, but the pair had now been there for almost a month, he said.

Even if he eventually managed to get on a flight home, he was uneasy about transiting through Dubai considering UK Foreign Office advice to not travel to the city unless essential.

"They're saying, don't worry, we'll look after you," he said.

"Well, I'm sorry, but if they're going to fly us into a war zone, I don't know how they're going to look after us."

Maintenance engineer Lynn said his employer had been understanding about his extended trip away but the situation was not sustainable.

Emirates had only been booking him on flights to Dublin that went via Dubai, the same route as his original flight, he said.

Lynnsaid he was now due to fly on Sunday but was not confident that would happen.

The airline said its route to Dublin only operated via Dubai.

Lynn hoped he would eventually be compensated for the extra expenses he had incurred, but said he was currently paying for everything out of pocket.

"My credit card is just about maxed out," he said.

Emirates had offered him a refund if he wanted to book with another flight operator, he said, but this would be a few hundred pounds and a direct flight would cost about £1,800.

Nevertheless, Lynn said he planned to wait until Sunday and, if that flight was also cancelled, he would pay for a flight that avoided Dubai in the hope his travel insurance would later reimburse him.

Passengers affected by disruption to their flights have various rights depending on which carrier they are flying with and from where.

Emirates said passengers should look at its website to review their options.

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