CHENNAI: The second Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai carrying 364 passengers safely arrived at the city airport on Wednesday morning, bringing relief to travellers stranded due to the ongoing war situation in West Asia.
Emotional scenes unfolded at the city Airport as families of the passengers gathered to welcome them with tears and relief.
The airspace in the West Asia region had been closed for the past four days due to the US-Israeli offensive in Iran and the retaliatory act by Iran.
After three days of disruption, only one Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai carrying 217 passengers arrived in the city early Tuesday morning. However, flight operations slowly resumed on Wednesday, with the second Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai landing in Chennai with 364 passengers on board.
Janani, a passenger from Cuddalore, said explosions and military aircraft could be heard constantly in Dubai. She said that even while they were at the airport on Tuesday, there was an attack on a building housing the US consulate. However, she noted that the strikes were primarily targeting American and Israeli facilities and military bases, and not civilian areas.
She added that the general public was not affected and daily life continued as usual.
According to her, even a seafood festival was taking place in an area of Dubai with a large South Indian population. Janani also said the Dubai government had provided security to travellers, especially foreigners, while advising people to remain cautious.
Another passenger, Saravanakumar from Salem, who was returning to his hometown from the United States via Dubai, said he had been stranded in Dubai for four days before finally arriving in Chennai.
He said amid the tensions, civilians were not affected. During the four days they waited at the airport, the Dubai government and officials from the Indian embassy provided stranded passengers with food and other facilities.
Peter, a resident of Chennai, said the situation in Dubai was not as tense as portrayed in television news reports. He said people were continuing their routine activities without major disruptions.