Hyderabad: For most passengers who landed in Hyderabad on Tuesday evening, March 3, the relief of touching Indian soil only came after days of uncertainty. They watched a conflict spiral around them, scrambled for connecting flights and, in some cases, not made it home with their entire family.
Flights from Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi brought back Indian passengers who had been stranded following Tehran’s retaliatory strikes after Israel and the United States launched a coordinated military offensive against Iran on February 28, an attack that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 1. Iran responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and US military installations across the Gulf, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The first flight from the Gulf region after the war broke out, an Oman Air aircraft, landed at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad’s Shamshabad at around 3 pm on Tuesday, carrying only about 30 passengers. The Emirates flight, scheduled to arrive at 7:45 pm, touched down at 8:30 pm, with passengers clearing immigration and reaching the exit area by 9:30 pm. The Etihad flight, due at 7:30 pm, arrived at 8:40 pm, with passengers emerging around 9:45 pm. Most had been travelling on connecting flights routed through the UAE from Canada and Spain.
‘I watched missiles being intercepted overhead’
Ashwin, who was returning from Barcelona via Abu Dhabi, described a tense wait at the airport before his flight finally departed. “I was at Abu Dhabi airport on Tuesday afternoon when I saw missiles being intercepted in the sky. Initially there was panic,” he told Siasat.com, “but the airport authorities handled the situation well. The UAE government is doing their best to ensure passenger safety.”
Praneeti, a British citizen travelling to Hyderabad via Dubai, said her experience was less dramatic but still unsettling. “We didn’t face any issues apart from an hour-long delay on the connecting flight,” she said.
Satish had travelled from Hyderabad to Abu Dhabi to attend a wedding, with an onward flight to Guwahati, when the conflict overtook his plans. “The UAE government has been efficient in managing passenger safety. Glad to be in India,” he said.
Anjali, travelling from Dubai to Hyderabad, had been due to fly on February 28, the day the strikes began. “The situation escalated and we were panicking. But I am glad to be back,” she said.
Separated families, unanswered questions
Not everyone came home complete.
Ritesh, who had come to the airport to receive his sister’s family travelling from Canada via Dubai, was visibly distressed. Only his brother-in-law Vijay had been allowed to board the connecting flight. “My sister’s family was travelling from Canada via Dubai. Why can’t the government fix this?” he said, frustrated at what he described as a lack of proper arrangements by both the Centre and the state government.
Vijay, upon arriving, clarified that his wife and son had been held back due to what he was told was a technical glitch, not the conflict itself.
The fear doesn’t end at the airport
The scenes at Hyderabad’s airport were playing out across the country. Passengers returning from the Gulf to other Indian cities described the same mixture of relief, exhaustion and lingering dread.
Sunil Gupta, who flew back to Delhi from Dubai, said the anxiety followed him all the way home. “I didn’t feel any relief, not even during the flight, until I finally landed in Delhi. I was very worried because I have never faced such a situation before. Watching everything that was happening around the world made me anxious. All I wanted was to somehow return home and be with my family,” he said.
Arvind, a Noida resident also returning from Dubai, said the financial strain on those still stranded was becoming critical. His own flight was cancelled, forcing him to stay back four extra days. “People had just gone there for a few days and are not able to handle the expenses. The stranded tourists are facing a serious financial burden. That is the biggest problem right now,” he said.
Like Ashwin in Abu Dhabi, he too watched the sky over Dubai light up. “I personally saw explosions in the sky, but they were being intercepted. Even though the missiles were intercepted, witnessing something like that creates fear.”
For some, the wait to be reunited is far from over. Kunwar Shakeel Ahmed’s daughter is still in Iran. He said blasts have been falling close to where she is staying, close enough that the roof and plaster of her hostel building came down after one explosion nearby.
He recalled what she told him on Tuesday morning. “She said, take care of yourselves, and if God wants, we will meet again.” He paused before adding: “When your own child speaks like that, it shakes you from within.”
(With inputs from PTI)
