An Emirates flight from Dubai landed safely in Mumbai, signalling the resumption of flight operations after disruptions from the West Asian conflict. Stranded passengers were provided accommodation by airlines as normalcy slowly returns to the UAE.
An Emirates flight from Dubai to Mumbai landed safely at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Tuesday as flight operations gradually resumed following disruptions triggered by the escalating West Asian conflict. Emirates flight EK 500 arrived in Mumbai amid tight coordination between airport authorities and airline officials, bringing relief to stranded passengers who had faced uncertainty over the past few days due to widespread cancellations and delays.
'A war had broken out': Passenger recounts ordeal
Ajay, a passenger on board the flight, recounted the tense situation in Dubai. Speaking to ANI, he said, "We had a flight to the USA from Dubai. When it didn't take off, we thought there might be some issues with the flight. After 7-8 hours, we were told that a war had broken out," he said. He added that the airline arranged accommodation for stranded travellers. "Buses from Emirates came and took all the passengers to the hotels. As soon as we came to know that the flight to Mumbai would leave, we immediately contacted them and came here. Slowly, the situation is getting controlled there," Ajay said.
Similar relief for passengers bound for Bengaluru
In a similar development, the first flight from Abu Dhabi landed at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Monday night, bringing back passengers affected by the disruption in air travel services. A traveller who had been stranded in Abu Dhabi praised the arrangements made by Etihad Airways. Speaking to ANI, the passenger said, "Once we got stuck in the Abu Dhabi airport, Etihad Airways took good care of us. They booked the hotels for all the passengers whose flights were cancelled."
Dubai Airports confirms partial resumption of operations
Meanwhile, another Emirates flight from Dubai to Bengaluru departed on Monday night, as operations at Dubai airports began to partially resume. Dubai Airports confirmed that a limited resumption of operations would begin on the evening of March 2 (Monday), with a small number of flights permitted to operate from Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).
With flights gradually taking to the skies once again, normalcy is slowly returning to the UAE, and for the thousands of Indians eager to get home, the wait is finally coming to an end.
Background of the disruption
Following the US-Israel strikes against Iran on February 28, Iran launched a wave of retaliatory attacks, using drones and missiles targeting multiple Arab countries in the region as a retaliatory action, which resulted in flight cancellations.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)