A Patrington couple have been left stranded in Abu Dhabi after flights were abruptly suspended amid escalating military tensions across the Middle East.
Zoe and Simon Rawson had been due to fly home to Manchester today (Saturday, February 28) after a week-long holiday, but were stopped at the gate as emergency alerts were issued inside the airport and departures were halted.
Mrs Rawson first alerted friends and family on social media after all passengers reportedly received the same warning message on their phones.
She wrote: “Everyone’s phone in the airport has just gone off and we all received this message. All flights are currently suspended.” She later added: “Update – a fighter plane has just taken off from the airport!”
The alert sent to passengers read: “Due to the current situation, and potential missile threats, seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building, and stay away from windows, doors and open areas. Await further instructions. (MOI).”
Speaking to the Gazette from Zayed International Airport, Mrs Rawson said the situation unfolded suddenly as boarding began.
“We were supposed to be coming back today. We should have been back home about 9pm tonight,” she said.
“It was the 2pm flight home. There was the one to Manchester, which we were on. Heathrow was just boarding and then we sort of got stopped going through.
“We were waiting to go through the next bit to get on to the plane, then we were all told to come and sit back down.”
She said passengers on nearby flights were also taken off aircraft as announcements continued over the tannoy.
“We saw they were bringing everybody off the Heathrow one and all the Heathrow lot came back through,” she said.
“There have been quite a few fighter jets flying across, and bombings, as we found out.”
Despite the uncertainty, she described the atmosphere inside the terminal as calm, with travellers waiting for further instructions.
“Everybody’s very calm at the moment, so that’s the main thing, that we just keep calm.
“It doesn’t look like we’ll be home any time soon – our boarding passes have now become meal vouchers.”
The couple travelled to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, last Saturday and had been preparing to return home when the disruption began.
“It has been an amazing holiday, I’ve loved every minute sharing it with my soulmate,” Mrs Rawson said. “We were so ready for a break as all we do is work.”
Their travel plans were disrupted as tensions escalated across the region after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in the early hours of Saturday, with retaliatory attacks reported across parts of the Middle East.
The United Arab Emirates defence ministry said the country had been subjected to what it described as a “blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles”, adding that air defence systems intercepted a number of missiles. However, officials were reported as saying that debris had fallen on a residential area in Abu Dhabi, causing material damage and killing one civilian.
Explosions have been reported in several locations across the region, including the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait, amid ongoing military exchanges and retaliatory strikes targeting US-linked sites and interests.
Airspace disruption and flight suspensions have followed across parts of the Middle East as a precaution, leaving passengers, including the Rawsons, waiting inside terminals for further updates.
The UK Foreign Office has advised British nationals in the region, including the UAE, to remain vigilant, follow local authority advice and shelter in place if instructed.