An Etihad Airways flight, one of the limited number of flights that took off from Abu Dhabi on Monday, landed in Delhi on Monday evening with 310 people who were stranded in the country after Iran launched a series of missile and drone strikes on several Gulf countries, after being hit by US-Israeli missile strikes from Saturday.
The flight landed at terminal-3 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 8:30 pm on Monday. It was an emotional scene as passengers came through the gates, with parents and friends running inside to welcome their kin with hugs.
“My son Shiv was returning from Manchester via Abu Dhabi on Saturday, but got stuck there. We were extremely scared as he had told us that he could hear and see missiles being intercepted above his hotel. We were tracking his flight the entire time and could only be relieved when it entered Indian airspace,” said 55-year-old Vinod Sharma.
Danishta Perween (50), another anxious parent waiting at the terminal on Monday, said her daughter, an Etihad crew member, had been unable to return. “She was anyways scheduled to come on Feb 28 but could not… (she) was telling us that she could see the airport walls shake due to the missiles. It is also her birthday tomorrow so I am happy she has returned and can celebrate it with us,” she said while hugging her daughter.
Shashi Parma (52), who was returning with her son and daughter-in-law, said they were overjoyed to be home.
“We had no idea what would happen to us, and were worried that we would get stuck there for very long. I am beyond relieved to be in Delhi with my children, and feel safe now for the first time in two days,” she said, wiping away tears.
Rahul Kumar (42) said he was due to fly on February 28 and even been issued a boarding card at the airport when the missiles from Iran forced the authorities to ground the planes.
“I was supposed to come back on the 28th and had gotten my boarding pass too, but then the flight was suspended, after which we saw missiles being intercepted in the sky multiple times. We could also feel debris from the same falling on our hotel, which was extremely scary for my family and me,” said Kumar.
Harpinder Siddhu (50) was returning from Canada and had a stopover in Abu Dhabi when he got stuck. “We heard missiles as well, but the authorities did not let panic take over,” she said.
Like her, many passengers credited the authorities for taking steps to keep them comfortable despite the ongoing situation.
Prajwal Verma (32) said he was also traveling from Toronto to Delhi, but the flight got cancelled. “We heard missiles a couple of times and were scared, but now that I am back here, I feel relieved and cannot wait to meet my family, as I was traveling alone.”
Anjana Gupta (60) said she was glad that her son and daughter-in-law were finally back. “Over the past two days, they would send us videos of blasts in the sky and their hotel windows shaking, which would make us really scared, so I’m glad they are back,” she said.