After 24-hour delay, UAE expat flies to brother's wedding as conflict disrupts flights
A Dubai resident was delayed by over 24 hours when he tried to fly back to his hometown of Beirut to attend his brother's wedding, as flight cancellations continued on for a second day in the region. Anthony Sebaaly, who was supposed to fly out on Friday afternoon, spent 12 hours at Dubai Airport but eventually managed to get home on Saturday evening, just in time for his brother's wedding reception party.
'It was super challenging as all the flights were cancelled,' he told Khaleej Times from Beirut. 'I had been planning for the wedding for months but when the airspace was closed, I didn't know what to do. However, I got incredibly lucky and my flight got rescheduled for Saturday evening. I made it just in time for the wedding party.'
In the early hours of Friday, I srael launched an offensive against Iran, in a dramatic escalation of the decades-long tense relationship between the two countries. This resulted in air closures that is believed to have impacted approximately 3,000 flights per day through cancelled flights or re-routes.
UAE airlines including Emirates, Etihad and flydubai have extended their flight cancellations and advised travellers to check the status of their flights. Several countries like Jordan and Lebanon have opened their airspace but intermittent closures have been in place due to the ongoing airstrikes that both Iran and Israel are trading.
12-hour wait
Anthony was initially supposed to fly on a different airline, but the flight got cancelled. 'I rebooked on a second airline because I was desperate to get home for my brother's wedding,' he said. 'However, when I arrived at the airport, I came to know that the plane I was supposed to board was not allowed to take off because of airspace closures.'
The Lebanese surgical robotics engineer waited for 12 hours at the airport hoping for some good news, but it didn't come. Eventually, on Saturday morning, he returned home hoping and praying for the best. 'A little while after I reached home, I got the call that the airspace had opened and the flight had been rescheduled for Saturday afternoon,' he said. 'I immediately rushed back. I was worried until the plane landed in Beirut because I knew how fluid the situation was. But thank God, I was incredibly lucky. Just a few hours after I landed, the airspace closed again. I was able to rush to my brother's reception party and dance and celebrate with them. It was a lifetime memory that I wouldn't have missed for the world.'
He added the airline and Dubai Airport went the extra mile to handle the situation in the best possible way. "They were really amazing in making sure that we were comfortable during the long wait," he said.
Anthony is scheduled to return on June 29 and is hoping that things settle down by then. 'I need to rejoin work on Monday, June 30, and I am praying that I make it back to Dubai on time for it,' he said. 'We are all praying that the conflict doesn't escalate and everything settles down.'
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