Thousands of travelers remained stranded less than one week after the US and Israel began conducting coordinated strikes on Iran, on Feb. 28. The war prompted airspace closures across the Middle East, including in major transit hubs that serve as popular transfer points for passengers on long-haul flights.

Dubai, the busiest airport in the world for international travel, closed for two days as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced retaliatory strikes from Iran. It reopened on Mar. 2, with limited service, but as of Mar. 6, nearly 47% of flights scheduled into or out of the airport had been canceled, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. There were no flights from Doha or Bahrain, as airspace in these regions remained closed.

Among the stranded are those in the region for business. Dozens of Google employees, for example, were stuck in Dubai after attending a sales conference there, sources told CNBC.

Here’s what HR teams should know about the state of business travel, one week into the war.

Keep reading.—CV

President Donald Trump recently touted a proposal to give private-sector workers access to a retirement savings plan if they don’t already receive one from their employer.

He spoke about the proposal during the Feb. 24 State of the Union address before Congress. Starting next year, Americans who don’t have an employer-sponsored retirement plan with matching contributions will have “access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker. We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year, as we ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market,” Trump said.

How Trump’s proposal might work. Lawmakers from both parties have already expressed support for extending Thrift Savings Plans—defined contribution retirement plans available to federal employees—to workers in the private sector. Kevin Hassett, who currently serves as National Economic Council Director, co-authored an op-ed advocating for this solution in March 2021, when Joe Biden was president. And a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced a bill to this end in May 2025.

Even if Trump’s proposal doesn’t manage to clear passage in Congress, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested in an interview with NBC that the White House could push it through via budget reconciliation, which allows lawmakers to fast-track certain high-priority fiscal legislation. Bessent told NBC’s Kristen Welker that the White House would unveil the policy proposal “in the coming weeks and months.”

Room for improvement. The president often references the stock market and Americans’ rising 401(k) balances as a sign of the US economy’s strength.

Keep reading.—CV

More focus, less fluff. CollabWORK filters out the noise and delivers jobs that actually match what HR Brew readers are looking for. Click here to see the full board of curated roles.