Britons stranded in the Middle East and Cyprus have been left terrified after airports were evacuated and flights cancelled amid fears of drone attacks. 

Iran’s retaliation following the launch of Operation Epic Fury has plunged the Gulf region and beyond into chaos and left thousands of holidaymakers trapped.

Just hours after the British base of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by an Iranian drone, Paphos International Airport was evacuated on Monday amid fears of further attacks. 

Travellers were rushed out of the airport around midday after radars picked up a suspected drone heading for the Cypriot city.

Staff were then heard shouting ‘there are drones in the sky, we need to get out’ as hundreds of people were ushered out of emergency exits and into the car park.

One security guard told the Daily Mail he believed the airport was evacuated amid fears that a suspected drone could be headed for the Andreas Papandreou Air Base, which sits adjacent to Paphos International.

EasyJet and Ryanair flights to the UK were cancelled, however Ryanair continued flying from Paphos into other European cities including Riga in Latvia, Warsaw in Poland and Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

One Brit, who did not want to be named, said he was due to fly to Thessaloniki in mainland Greece when he heard airport staff raise the alarm. 

Paphos International Airport (pictured) was plunged into chaos on Monday amid Iranian targeting of Cyprus

Staff were heard shouting ‘there are drones in the sky, we need to get out’ as travellers were ushered out of emergency exits and into the car park

He said: ‘We were going through security then the alarms went off, staff started shouting “there is a drone, we need to go now”. I have no idea what the plan is now, it seems unclear.’

There was added disarray as Ryanair passengers were unable to book new flights or find any information online.

A family hoping to fly to Manchester with the airline said they had their flight cancelled and were unable to book an alternative route online.

‘It’s chaos, we were still told to come to the airport, we don’t know what our options are now’, the mother said.

A Ryanair flight from Warsaw to Paphos was ordered to turn around following the evacuation. 

Travellers are thought to have eventually been let back into the airport shortly after 2pm, with scheduled flights going ahead as usual.

Elsewhere Brits living in the tax-free city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, have been attempting to find safety after Iran targeted popular hotels in the luxury location. 

The five-star Fairmont hotel on the island of Palm Jumeirah was set ablaze at the start of the conflict on Saturday, leaving four people injured, before The Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – was later evacuated amid fears it could become a target. 

Tourists hid in basements and car parks while missiles flew over the city, which is home to nearly a quarter of a million Brits abroad.

Stacey Gibson, 32, and her partner Charles Wright, 34, from Surrey, were woken up on Monday morning to two loud bangs as Iran continued its attack.

Stacey Gibson, 32, and her partner Charles Wright, 34, from Surrey, were woken up on Monday morning to two loud bangs in Dubai

Nathan Silver and Elana Phillips, both 23, have are trapped in Oman after their flight from Sri Lanka to Heathrow via Doha took a diversion

‘We’re in fight or flight mode,’ Ms Gibson said. ‘Every noise that you hear, every little thing, we’re jumping, and asking, what’s that? Do we need to move?’

The couple slept in a basement car park at the Mileo Hotel, having been shaken up after another hotel nearby was struck. They were in a taxi to the airport, heading home after a week-long trip for Mr Wright’s birthday, when the conflict first broke out.

‘We heard this almighty bang, it shivered through our feet. We looked at the cab driver, and he didn’t know what it was,’ Ms Gibson said. ‘At the airport it was mayhem. There were so many cars and when we went in we saw everything was cancelled or delayed on the departures board.’

An evacuation flight from Abu Dhabi, around 86 miles from Dubai, transporting stranded Brits back to London is expected to land at Heathrow Airport tonight. 

Etihad Airways flight EY67 is scheduled to arrive at the west London airport shortly after 7pm and was one of 15 flights by the airline to depart the city in a three-hour period. The company said it is ‘accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority’. 

The war in the Middle East has also affected Britons vying to find a way back to the UK from other parts of the globe. 

Nathan Silver and Elana Phillips, both 23, are trapped in Oman after their flight from Sri Lanka to Heathrow via Doha took a diversion. 

Mr Silver said: ‘We had our flight back from Colombo in Sri Lanka on Saturday morning via Doha, Qatar and then to Heathrow.

‘We already knew about was going on with the US and Israel, but we didn’t think it would affect us.

‘But there was WiFi on the flight. We saw that the US had launched strikes.

‘At that time, we were a few hours outside of Qatar and thought we’d make it there.

‘But the airline, Qatar Airways, announced they would be landing in Oman – without saying anything about what’s happening.

‘Instead, we landed in Muscat airport. We had to stay on the plane in the airport for seven hours – without them really explaining what was going on.

‘At that point they were suggesting we might still go to Qatar, but it was obvious to us that wouldn’t be happening – there’s literally a war going on. 

Dubai is one of many places in the Gulf region which has been targeted by Iranian drones

‘Five hours later they said we’d be getting off the plane – but there were more than 10 Qatar Airways planes landed there in the small airport and they needed to disembark one aircraft at a time.

‘When we eventually got off, passport control took four hours. We weren’t told much, just that there would be people on the other side to help us.

‘There was a bus, which took us to a five-star Radisson hotel – but our luggage didn’t come off the flight. It was a very nice hotel and all the food was paid for. But we still don’t have our luggage.’

The conflict in the Gulf today is now in its third day after the US and Israeli offensive launched strikes targeting Iran’s leadership on Friday. 

The country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on Saturday, prompting retaliation from Iran.

Iranian missiles have targeted Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as well as ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Cyprus has since also become a target after American aircraft moved to the island.  

Sardar Jabbari, a senior commander of the country’s military, warned on Monday: ‘The Americans have moved most of their aircraft to Cyprus. We will launch missiles at Cyprus with such intensity that the Americans will be forced to leave the island.’

President Donald Trump has however shown no signs of backing down, and didn’t rule out deploying US troops in Iran ‘if they were necessary’. 

The American leader also revealed that the conflict could last up to four weeks.

He said: ‘I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground – like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground. I say “probably don’t need them,” (or) “if they were necessary.”‘

Trump also struck a defiant tone about the possible political consequences of such an action, telling the outlet ‘I don’t care about polling.’

‘Look, whether polling is low or not, I think the polling is probably fine. But it’s not a question of polling. You cannot let Iran, who’s a nation that has been run by crazy people, have a nuclear weapon,’ the President explained.

In a separate interview, Trump alluded to major forthcoming action in Iran.

‘We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.’