Hong Kong travellers rejoiced on Wednesday evening after arriving home safely on the first flight from Dubai to the city since US-Israeli strikes on Iran disrupted global air links.
Emirates flight EK380 was the first to arrive after Dubai’s two airports resumed “limited” operations two days ago, landing at around 9.50pm.
Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport were both closed on Saturday after the conflict broke out, with Iran retaliating by targeting US military bases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Gulf countries.
Among the passengers on the Airbus A380 were jockey Karis Teetan and his family members.
“Our flight was cancelled a couple of times, and we had to rebook a few times. Luckily this flight was on schedule and we are just happy to be here again,” he said.
Teetan added he could hear the missiles flying through the air in Dubai and all he could do was remain in the hotel and avoid outdoor activities.
“We were very stressed ... we were just trying to be positive and not listen to what was going on.”
Twelve members and a guide from one of two Wing On Travel tour groups to Dubai were also on the seven-hour flight.
A member, surnamed Kwok, said she was glad to be back home. “I am very happy as I am finally somewhere safe, so I do not have to worry all day,” she said.
Kwok said that while the area where her hotel was located was not much affected by Iran’s missiles, she was still a little worried. “You never know where the missiles will head next.”
Another 22 tourists and a guide from the other group were waiting to fly home on Thursday if their flight was not cancelled, a Wing On Travel spokeswoman said.
Alvin Leung, who operates a restaurant in Dubai, was stuck there for four days.
“There were noticeably fewer people and cars on the street, and it was just like Hong Kong back during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Leung said Hong Kong’s Immigration Department could not offer much help.
“All we could do was register with the department,” he said. “And all they could say was ‘good luck’.”
Some family members of passengers had waited at Hong Kong International Airport’s arrival hall for the flight to land.
“We seldom pick up family at the airport but we are so happy that it feels like she has been reborn,” said retiree Nelson Yu, waiting for his sister-in-law with his wife.
Yu, 68, said his sister-in-law, who only planned to stop in Dubai on her trip to the United Kingdom, had been stranded there for three days.
He also complained that the Hong Kong authorities were not very helpful.
“We reached out to the Immigration Department’s hotline. But they said, at this moment, there was nothing they could help with except registration,” he said.
The Hong Kong women’s football team, which earlier withdrew from the Pink Ladies Cup tournament in Dubai, safely arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday, and were expected to return home on Saturday.
As of Wednesday, the Immigration Department had received inquiries from around 680 residents stranded in the Middle East, with nearly 90 per cent of them staying in the UAE. Around 100 of them had since left the region, while the rest reported that they were safe.
The government said it would maintain close communication with various airlines and urge them to help residents leave the region as soon as operational conditions in the Middle East permitted.
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways said earlier that all flights to and from Dubai in the UAE and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia had been cancelled until March 14.
Emirates said it would continue to operate a “limited flight schedule” to and from Dubai and prioritise accommodating customers with earlier bookings.
