New Flights Evacuate Travelers Stranded by Middle East War: 'Never Experienced Anything Like This'
More relieved passengers arrived home from the Gulf region on Wednesday as further flights resumed five days into the war triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran. As airlines resumed limited flights out of hubs including Dubai and Riyadh, governments also chartered planes to bring home citizens affected by the turmoil, which stranded tens of thousands of travelers worldwide.
Passengers Describe Harrowing Ordeals
Passengers touching down at airports in Australia, France, Germany, India, Russia, Taiwan and beyond told of sleepless nights and days-long ordeals to get out of the Middle East when war erupted. Max Lin, a student from Taiwan, was riding a motorcycle on the beach during a long layover in Dubai when he got the news that upended his trip on Saturday, the day the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
"My friend messaged me asking if anything had happened where I was," he said. "I looked it up and realized there seemed to be a war, so my flight that night was canceled," he told AFP after disembarking from the first direct Emirates flight from Dubai to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport since the conflict began.
Fanny Wu, who had traveled to Dubai with her two children, said bombs were "going off right next to us" as the air strikes began. "Although Taiwan has always been close to war, we had never experienced anything like this," she said.
International Evacuation Efforts Intensify
A Russian emergency services flight evacuated 117 citizens, including 54 children, from Azerbaijan after they left Iran overland across the border. France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States also organized special evacuation flights, from countries including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Passenger Emmy Coutelier, 18, hugged her sister at Charles de Gaulle airport after touching down in Paris from the UAE. When the first strikes hit Dubai, she was in a hotel swimming pool with her boyfriend, she recounted. "We never thought this would happen," she told AFP.
"An alarm sounded in the middle of the night telling us not to stay near the windows," she said. "We went down to the basement," she added. When Coutelier boarded the repatriation flight, she said she felt as if she were "fleeing danger, even though it's a relatively safe country."
Complex and Fluid Situation
France said it would organize further evacuation flights, but government minister Eleonore Caroit called it "a complex process, with constant uncertainty because we are in a very fluid situation." An evacuation flight from Abu Dhabi repatriated 175 passengers to the Spanish capital Madrid.
Carolina Garcia, a student, recounted going through "a lot of anxiety" during the ordeal. The global response highlights the widespread impact of the conflict, with travelers from multiple nations facing unexpected disruptions and governments scrambling to ensure their safe return amid escalating tensions in the region.
