Travel influencer Dan, known online as Nonstop Dan, says he is stranded in Singapore after his Singapore Airlines flight to Dubai was cancelled following U.S. strikes on Iran. Dan is now struggling to find business class availability anywhere in the region.
Dan and his travel companion Oscar were originally booked on a Singapore Airlines flight from Bali to Dubai on February 28th, with a layover in Singapore, to review the airline’s First Class Suite. The pair had intentionally booked a long connection to visit a friend in the city. While in their taxi after clearing immigration, Oscar opened the New York Times and saw the headline confirming the U.S. had struck Iran. Their flight the following day was officially cancelled by around 6:00 p.m. local Singapore time.
“Singapore Airlines was one of the first airlines to not only depart for their flight to Dubai and decide to be conservative with that, but also to cancel the following day’s flights,” Dan said in a video posted to his channel. “Singapore Airlines is usually a very good benchmark when it comes to safety.”
The pair have now been in Singapore for four days. Singapore Airlines has cancelled its Dubai flights for a full week, with service not resuming until March 7th. Dan received a refund of approximately 60% of the ticket value for the unflown portion and has been exploring alternate plans, including a possible return to Sweden to stay with family.
What truly alarmed Dan, however, was what he found when he went searching for replacement flights. With major Middle Eastern hubs in Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain effectively removed from the global aviation network, he says demand has surged dramatically across nearly every long-haul route.
“If you look at just the direct capacity between a city like Singapore and London, there’s not a thousand business class seats in a week,” he explained. “When I went to search Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore to Europe, you currently have to wait pretty much two weeks to even be able to book a ticket.”
Dan warned that the ripple effects extend far beyond travelers with Middle Eastern connections, noting that passengers flying routes like Australia to the U.S. or Europe to Japan are also seeing their options disappear rapidly.
“There are a few seats on some days in economy, but even those are selling fast,” he said. “The amount of backup options that you’ll have at the last minute will be virtually non-existent.”
Despite Dan framing the situation as being “stranded,” many viewers pushed back in the comments, arguing that the problem wasn’t a lack of flights but a refusal to fly outside premium cabins. Several pointed out that economy seats still existed, even if they were expensive or less convenient.
One commenter bluntly asked, “So not ‘stranded’ at all then?”
Another wrote, “Swallow your pride and take economy this one time.”
Others echoed the same sentiment more sarcastically, with one viewer summarizing the situation as: “Subtitle: I would rather stay in a luxury hotel than fly economy.”
Some critics also accused the influencer of exaggerating the situation for content. One commenter argued that Dan was presenting a personal inconvenience as a crisis: “You are not ‘stranded.’ You are in a luxury hotel in Singapore… with many options to fly to other locations including ‘home.’”
Another viewer even listed a potential route home: Singapore to Los Angeles to Stockholm, for roughly $1,191, questioning why it wasn’t an option.
For many viewers, the issue wasn’t the disrupted travel network itself, but the perception that Dan was unwilling to take a standard economy flight.
One comment summed up the frustration: “Absolutely hilarious that Dan would rather wait two weeks in Singapore without seeing his family rather than dealing with the horror of travelling economy.”
