What it's really like to get caught up in the flight disruptions in the Middle East right now
The British captain of our flight explained that they had been issued a directive from the security team at Emirates HQ in Dubai that it was not safe for us to depart right now, and they would be monitoring the situation and update us shortly.
'The decision to continue the flight towards Dubai will been taken with serious consideration for your safety, which is of our utmost importance,' he stressed.
What he didn't mention, for obvious reasons, was what had transpired in the minutes before. Having had personal ties to Dubai now for 17 years, I knew something serious had happened. I activated my roaming service and informed my sister of the delay, who has two young girls and has been based in Dubai for 17 years. The UAE had closed its airspace, she said.
Iran had bombed the US base in Qatar.
This was unprecedented. I had lived in Dubai from 2008 to 2014, during some of the more recent unrest of the Middle East, such as the Arab Spring, and I had never seen this before. The UAE had always been considered a bubble.
The Dubai friends Whatsapp group I'm part of was blowing up; people were scared. One friend had ordered a supply of water to her house, another was directing everyone to stay indoors.
Another messaged that she naively thought the UAE would be kept out of this. It's sentiment all of us shared.
Other passengers on the plane appeared calm and most seemed unaware of the situation.
The kind nun from Madagascar sitting next to me had fallen asleep and asked me why the flight was so late.
When I told her, she was worried she would not make the connection in Dubai to her homeland in time for her brother's funeral. I felt uneasy knowing that my family and friends were in Dubai, and the situation was still developing.
With my parents travelling in business class, I asked the crew if I could go upstairs to talk to them. They very kindly consulted their superiors, and then ushered me upstairs. Credit to the entire Emirates crew who handled it professionally and turned a blind eye when my folks and I sat down at the A380 bar to drink champagne and wait it out. The A380 business class bar was a different vibe to economy, with people cracking jokes, lots of laughter, cake served and a party vibe quickly evolving.
At around 8.15pm we noticed more of a momentum on the aircraft, crew seemed to be getting ready for something. At about 8.20pm, the captain announced that things were looking positive and we might soon be cleared to fly.
Then at 8.45pm, we got more news. 'The UAE has decided to reopen their airspace … there are aircraft landing and departing around the terminal as normal,' he said. We'd be pushing back at 9.15pm, he said to an eruption of cheers in the A380 bar.
Back in economy, things were calm but less festive. Cabin crew immediately began going through each of the cabin bags in the holds and asking passengers to identify their bags.
One bag was not identified in my section and it was paraded up and down the aisle before an announcement was made saying that it would be offloaded.
Eventually someone who wasn't paying attention claimed it. The nun was not happy.
However, then there were more delays. Some people wanted to get off of the plane.
'I've been informed that there are some passengers who wish to offload,' said the captain.
He stressed Emirates safety protocols and that the current unrest was isolated to very specific spots.
Several freaked-out passengers did decide to disembark the flight and the captain kept us informed that there would be a bit more of a wait until their bags were collected from the hold.
We eventually took off at around 9.36pm and touched down in Dubai nearly 2.5 hours later than scheduled, so there was plenty of panic, with most passengers connecting to onwards flights.
It was as if the entire economy jumped up into the aisle to get their bags before the plane had even stopped moving.
I wished my seat neighbour all the best in making her brother's funeral and assured her the ground staff would assist her.
There were masses of staff holding signs to connecting flights when we touched down, but other than that, things appeared as normal.
Kudos to Emirates and all the crew on flight EK764 for handling this tricky situation with such grace and professionalism.
Let's hope my next flight to Europe is less eventful.
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ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Israel has begun airdrops in Gaza but aid groups say it's not enough. Here's the reality
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"The quantity of food aid delivered to date is still a tiny fraction of what a population of over 2 million people need to survive," it said in a recent update. Nearly one in three people in Gaza have not eaten for days at a time, the WFP said. About 500 trucks of aid — including food and other supplies like medical equipment — entered Gaza each day on average before the war, according to the UN. Many aid groups say a full ceasefire, to allow for aid to be distributed over land, is the only way to address the hunger crisis. It's hard to give an exact answer to that question. But humanitarian organisations say it won't be enough. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the airdrop it did on Sunday consisted of seven pallets carrying supplies such as flour, sugar and canned food. It did not say how much food exactly each pallet contained, or how many people they were expected to feed. 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The Australian
a day ago
- The Australian
Food arrives in Gaza after Israel pauses some fighting
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News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Food arrives in Gaza after Israel pauses some fighting
Truckloads of food reached hungry Gazans on Monday after Israel promised to open secure aid routes, but humanitarian agencies warned vast amounts more were needed to stave off starvation. With Gaza's population of more than two million facing famine and malnutrition, Israel bowed to international pressure at the weekend and announced a daily "tactical pause" in fighting in some areas. "For the first time, I received about five kilos of flour, which I shared with my neighbour," said 37-year-old Jamil Safadi, who shelters with his wife, six children and a sick father in a tent near the Al-Quds hospital in Tel al-Hawa. Safadi, who has been up before dawn for two weeks searching for food, said Monday was his first success. Other Gazans were less fortunate; some complained aid trucks had been stolen or that guards had fired at them near US-backed aid centres. "I saw injured and dead people. People have no choice but to try daily to get flour. What entered from Egypt was very limited," said 33-year-old Amir al-Rash, still without food and living in a tent. Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza on March 2 after talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down. Nothing was allowed into the territory until late May, when a trickle of aid resumed. Now, the Israeli defence ministry's civil affairs agency says the UN and aid agencies had been able to pick up 120 truckloads of aid on Sunday and distribute it inside Gaza, with more on the way Monday. - Basic supplies - Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have begun air-dropping aid packages by parachute over Gaza, while Egypt has sent trucks through its Rafah border crossing to an Israeli post just inside Gaza. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, cautiously welcomed Israel's "humanitarian pauses" but warned Gaza needed at least 500 to 600 trucks of basic food, medicine and hygiene supplies daily. "We hope that UNRWA will finally be allowed to bring in thousands of trucks loaded with food, medicine and hygiene supplies. They are currently in Jordan and Egypt waiting for the green light," the agency said. "Opening all the crossings and flooding Gaza with assistance is the only way to avert further deepening of starvation among the people of Gaza." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly denied Israel was deliberately starving civilians as part of its intense 21-month-old war to crush the Palestinian group Hamas. Military spokesmen say the UN and aid agencies should quickly make use of the lull in fighting and secure aid routes, urging them to pick up and distribute aid delivered to Gaza border crossings. "An additional 180 trucks entered Gaza and are now awaiting collection and distribution, along with hundreds of others still queued for UN pickup," said COGAT, a defence ministry body that oversees Palestinian affairs. "More consistent collection and distribution by UN agencies and international organisations equals more aid reaching those who need it most in Gaza." UNRWA insisted it was ready to step up distribution, with 10,000 staff inside Gaza, waiting for deliveries. "According to our latest data one in every five children is malnourished in Gaza City. More children have reportedly died of hunger; bringing the death toll of starving people to over 100," the statement said. Over the weekend aid trucks began arriving from Egypt and Jordan and dropping their loads at distribution platforms just inside Gaza, ready to be picked up by agencies working inside the war-shattered territory. But their number still falls far short of what is needed, aid agencies warn, calling for a permanent ceasefire, the reopening of more border crossings and a long-term large-scale humanitarian operation. - Field hospital C-section - Truce talks between Israel and Hamas -- mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States -- have stumbled, and Netanyahu remains determined to push on with the campaign to destroy Hamas and recover Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Gaza's civil defence agency said 16 people were killed by Israeli fire Monday. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said they included five people killed in an overnight strike on a residential building in the southern Gaza district of Al-Mawasi. A pregnant woman was among the dead, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which said its teams saved the woman's foetus by performing a Caesarean section in a field hospital. The violence in Gaza came against the backdrop of a UN conference in New York where France and Saudi Arabia will lead a diplomatic effort to revive the moribund push for a two-state peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
