My Emirates flight to Dubai was disrupted due to Iranian missiles

I flew from Mumbai to Dubai on an Emirates repatriation flight, one of several in the past 24 hours and one of the first flights back to the country since the United States and Israel attacked Iran at the weekend.

Most flights to and from the United Arab Emirates have been suspended, leading to hundreds of cancellations, thousands of people stranded both inside and outside the Middle East and disruption to global travel as the attacks in Iran escalated into a broader regional conflict.

But on Monday, Emirates and Etihad announced a small number of flights to and from Dubai: repatriation flights for Emirati citizens and residents, and others to evacuate tourists stranded in the country.

But with only about 30 minutes left in the 3.5-hour journey from Mumbai to Dubai, the captain of the Emirates flight, an Airbus A380, which was only half full, informed passengers that we would have to turn around due to missiles fired by Iran at the UAE.

About 15 minutes later, the captain told the passengers that the airspace had reopened and that we were cleared to land in Dubai, where we arrived at a nearly empty airport.

The arrivals board was blank, but a small number of passengers appeared to be leaving on repatriation flights back to the UK.

When the war started, I was on holiday in Goa, India, with my partner and was due to fly back on Sunday, but our direct flight home to the UAE was cancelled. My bosses suggested I go to CNBC’s Singapore office to wait out the conflict and work from there. We headed to Goa airport on Monday night to catch our flight via Mumbai to Singapore.

When we arrived at the Mumbai airport, we checked the departure board for our Singapore leg and saw an Emirates flight leaving for Dubai at 2:20 am. I was in contact with Emirates, Etihad and Dubai airports all weekend to make my report, but was surprised to see a flight. We went to the Emirates counter to get more information.

To my surprise, they told us that we could book flights if we were UAE residents or nationals. We were asked to book on the spot, through the airline’s app, and show our Emirates ID, a national ID for residents across the country.

We stood at the desk, contemplating the possibility of returning to an active war. I consulted the CNBC security team and together we decided it would be best to return home. My team had been on the ground for days reporting and working from the UAE, and I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to return. My partner and I agreed that we may not get the opportunity again anytime soon.

We boarded the very quiet flight and spoke to other passengers, a mix of Emiratis and expats residing in Dubai. Many of them had tried in recent days to board flights to Saudi Arabia or Oman, hoping to return to the United Arab Emirates from there.

I was told that taxi drivers in Muscat were charging passengers who wanted to cross the border more than 3,000 dirhams, just under $200, for the four-and-a-half-hour trip. Most people on board said they were excited to get home, but the atmosphere on the flight was tense.

The flight took off and we fell asleep. It was the middle of the night and I had been working on breaking news for the past three days. Thirty minutes after landing, the captain woke us all up to tell us that UAE airspace had been closed and the plane had to return to Mumbai. We were so close.

There was a mixture of silence and shock. He was next to a British woman who said her two young children were in Dubai. She looked at me with despair at the news that she would not see her family.

Through the flight’s WiFi, I learned from my team, which was following my flight, that a barrage of missiles had been fired towards the United Arab Emirates. They reported hearing multiple loud explosions, which the UAE government confirmed were the country’s air defenses intercepting missiles from Iran. I was stunned and started making plans to return to my original plan: Singapore.

About 15 minutes later, the captain’s voice returned. He said, to our great surprise, that we were cleared to land in Dubai and we are only an hour away. The entire group applauded and cheered. I looked at my partner. We both thought: Are we really getting back into ballistic missile range?

As we approached Dubai, I saw the familiar view of the Persian Gulf from my window, with tankers scattered along the coast of the United Arab Emirates like little oil-filled stars.

The crew told me that two fighter jets were escorting us back into UAE airspace. I couldn’t see anything from my window from my view in the middle seat, and after landing, Emirates didn’t officially confirm this to me, saying only that the flight was “diverted in accordance with air traffic control instructions” and “landed safely in Dubai with a one-hour delay.”

When we landed, it was just after 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The emptiness was a haunting reminder of how the country felt during Covid-19. I flew a lot then and remember being in and out of a very empty Dubai airport. The arrivals board was blank, the baggage claims were still, and the taxi ranks were empty.

It felt good to be home, although it seemed like pure luck and I was hoping I wouldn’t be able to return for weeks.. For me, for now, the UAE feels safe.