Hotels in Dubai have been directed that stranded tourists are not to be evicted from their rooms under any circumstances in what is likely to be welcome relief for stranded Brits in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism issued an email directive to hotel providers across the city, with the instruction that all necessary support must be extended to any tourists impacted by the flight cancellations or delays in the wake of mass flight disruptions in the Middle East as conflict between the US and Iran continues.

In an email from the DET, seen by English-speaking Dubai newspaper the Khaleej Times, the Dubai tourism board outlined how hotels should support stranded visitors.D

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“We kindly request your cooperation in ensuring that hotel guests who were due to check out but are unable to do so as a result of these circumstances are offered the option to extend their stay under the same conditions as their initial booking,” the DET email reads.

“It is important that no guests are evicted under these circumstances.”

For guests who are unable to pay for a longer stay, hotels are not to evict stranded tourists but are to advise the DET at the earliest opportunity.

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority also announced that the UAE will cover all costs of those stranded in the crisis, and will cover sustenance and accommodation costs for tourists left in limbo.

In Abu Dhabi, the city’s Department of Culture and Tourism has directed hotels across the capital to extend the stay of any guests unable to travel due to the flight disruptions, adding that the department will cover the cost of the additional nights.

The update from the Dubai tourism board comes as the UK Foreign Office draws up plans to evacuate tens of thousands of British citizens if war in the Middle East escalates.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that about 200,000 British people are understood to be in the Gulf region. He urged all Britons who are located in areas targeted by Iranian strikes to register their location with the Foreign Office to receive advice on next steps. He added that about 94,000 people have done that so far.

More than 50,000 of those people are believed to be in the United Arab Emirates, with the majority of that UAE figure made up of tourists and holidaymakers. With the airspace over Dubai currently closed, thousands have been left stranded.

Travel advice from the Foreign Office warns Britons from any travel Iran, Israel and Palestine. It also advises against all but essential travel to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as instructions to avoid travel to some parts of Pakistan.

British nationals in Saudi Arabia are advised to stay at home, while Briton in Jordan, Oman, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq are advised to take any and all precautions due to the heightened regional tensions across the Middle East.