CHENNAI: The second Emirates flight from Dubai carrying 364 passengers stranded due to the closure of Middle East airspace amid escalating tensions arrived in Chennai on Wednesday morning.
Emotional scenes were witnessed outside the airport as families and relatives welcomed the passengers with tears after days of uncertainty.
The first Emirates flight from Dubai resumed services on Tuesday morning, bringing 217 passengers to Chennai, while the second flight arrived on Wednesday with 364 passengers.
After completing immigration and customs checks, the passengers were received by anxious relatives waiting outside the airport.
Janani from Cuddalore, who arrived on the flight, said she frequently heard explosions and fighter jets while in Dubai.
“We kept hearing explosions and military aircraft flying. Even when we were at the airport yesterday, an attack was launched on the US embassy building.
However, these attacks are targeting only US and Israeli facilities and military bases. Civilian areas are not being targeted, so the public is not affected,” she said.
She added that daily life in Dubai continued normally and that authorities were providing security to tourists while advising people to remain cautious.
Saravanakumar from Salem, who was returning from the United States via Dubai, said he had been stranded at the airport for four days and that the Dubai government and Indian embassy officials provided food and other facilities for passengers.
Another passenger, Peter from Chennai, said the situation in Dubai appeared calmer than portrayed in television reports and that people were continuing their normal routines.
Darshini from Chennai said the sounds of explosions and military aircraft were frightening, though civilians were not directly affected.
Another passenger, requesting anonymity, said they stayed inside a hotel for safety while waiting for flights to resume.
Flight services between Chennai and several Middle Eastern destinations had been suspended since last Saturday following military escalation in the region. Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran last week, following which Iran began retaliatory strikes targeting US and Israeli military facilities across the Middle East.
As tensions intensified, several countries in the region temporarily closed their airspace, leading to the suspension of flights from Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Qatar, Kuwait and Muscat. Consequently, no flights from these destinations had landed in Chennai for four days.