UAE: Expats missed wedding, engagement back home due to regional tension

Several flights remain cancelled or are rerouted as airspaces across Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon were shut following Iran's missile strikes on Israel

Sara AlKuwari

Published: Tue 8 Oct 2024, 6:00 AM

Last updated: Tue 8 Oct 2024, 8:21 AM

A UAE resident missed his cousin's wedding; another expat was not able to travel back home for his own engagement; and a businessman failed to monitor his overseas operations. These all happened last week when several flights were cancelled or rerouted as airspaces across Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon were shut following Iran's missile strikes on Israel.

Some flights between UAE and Jordan have resumed from Sunday. However, worries among passengers still persist as the situation remains volatile and there are potential flight cancellations.

"There is no solution but to wait for air travel to resume normally," Jordanian expat and software engineer Mohammed Al-Khatib told Khaleej Times on Monday.

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Al-Khatib missed his cousin's wedding. "I frequently visit my family in Jordan. I wanted to be there for my cousin's celebration on October 3 and also to check in on my wife and children, but I was caught off guard by the flight cancellations and the security situation."

Mohammed Al-Khatib

The ongoing security tensions have profoundly disrupted air travel, affecting residents' plans and interfering with personal and business commitments. Individuals are experiencing emotional and logistical challenges due to air travel disruption.

Another Jordanian, Mohammed Bilal Abu Rab, who works as an accountant in the UAE, also expressed frustration over his ruined engagement plans. "My family and the girl’s family had agreed on a date with the engagement, but I couldn’t go home because of the flight closures."

Mohammed Bilal Abu Rab

Businessman Jamal Shakhour, who owns an advertising company in UAE with a branch in Jordan, meanwhile, could not oversee his operations abroad. “I was supposed to visit Jordan over the weekend, but the ongoing security tensions prevented me from doing so,” he said.

Jamal Shakhour

The three of them said they could not risk travelling back home until the situation relatively returns to normal.

Flights remain suspended

Meanwhile, flights between the UAE and Lebanon remain suspended. Dubai carrier flydubai on Monday extended its flight suspension to and from Beirut till the end of this month due to the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon. Emirates has also suspended flights to/from Beirut till October 15; and Etihad Airways has cancelled its services to and from Beirut until October 11.

A Lebanese expat who asked to remain anonymous shared with Khaleej Times the trauma she felt last week. She said: “I was following the news when my brother called, saying they had to evacuate due to imminent bombings. Initially, my brother said they could not find our sister, but thankfully, they found her and they left safely.”

“But wherever my family moved, that area got bombed,” she said, adding “Stability now feels non-existent in Beirut.”

She also lamented the dire economic conditions in Lebanon, where many suffer from high prices and lack of shelter.

Another Lebanese expat, Eve Michel Abdo, added: “My family is away from the bomb site, but Lebanon is small — everything can be heard. We fear accidental missile strikes.”

She wanted to bring her family for a visit before tensions escalated but said it's now impossible. “My father loves his job and refuses to leave Lebanon," she explained.

But despite the ongoing airstrikes in Lebanon, Abdo is hopeful Lebanese people will remain resilient.

She said: “This current situation is not new. Lebanon has learned to live under constant tension. We will see through these challenging times.”

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