MILAN – Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto became stranded in Dubai over the weekend after military operations targeting Iran forced airlines to cancel flights throughout the region, according to sources within the defense ministry.
Crosetto had departed Rome Friday night on a commercial airline to reunite with his family members, who were already vacationing in the United Arab Emirates. The defense minister had planned to fly back to Italy Saturday evening.
However, those travel plans were disrupted when U.S. and Israeli forces conducted attacks on Iran, prompting major carriers to halt service to the region. Italy’s national airline, ITA Airways, announced it would suspend all flights to and from Dubai through Sunday as a safety precaution.
The flight suspensions left the defense minister temporarily unable to return to his duties in Rome while he remained with his family in Dubai.
