Stranded travelers scramble to make new connections as war shuts much of Middle East to air travel

By MARC LEVY

Hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers scrambled to make new connections and get through to airlines on jammed phone lines on Sunday after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down much of the Middle East to air travel.

Tourists and business travelers crowded hotels and airports, with no word on when many airports would reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would resume. Some governments advised their stranded citizens to shelter in place.