News Report:
The situation in the Middle East has suddenly escalated, with airspace shut down and flights suspended in Dubai and other areas. A woman from Qingdao, along with her two young children and elderly mother, spent approximately 50 hours traveling through three countries, costing nearly 60,000 RMB in total, before finally returning to China.
According to mainland media “DaFeng News,” on February 28, Yu Wen Yaqi (pseudonym) received a sudden flight cancellation notification. She had originally planned to take an Eastern Airlines flight from Dubai back to Qingdao that evening. Due to the regional military conflict, airspace in Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and other areas was temporarily closed, causing airport operations to be disrupted. Initially, she thought it was just a temporary delay and booked a hotel to settle her family while waiting for updates.
However, in the early hours of March 1, a loud explosion woke her up. “The sound was so loud, like an explosion.” Subsequent alerts on her phone kept sounding, creating a sudden tense atmosphere in the city. Amidst the darkness of the night, the sounds of explosions and interception light intertwined, creating a terrifying scene.
She was in a WeChat group with fellow Chinese nationals stranded in Dubai. The group shared information, and some suggested going to Oman, which was relatively further away from Iran and had an operating airport. Yu Wen Yaqi, unable to wait until her children woke up, immediately arranged for a car to drive to the Oman border.
While driving on the desert highway, she kept refreshing the news updates. There were reports of an attack at the Oman port along the way, which caused her to experience anxiety. At that moment, she was “completely at a loss, not sure where to go.” But since she had already set out, she had no choice but to continue. Upon entering Oman, she gave up on staying in a hotel and headed straight to the Muscat Airport to seek a connecting flight.
After repeated communication at the airport counter, the staff assisted her in booking four tickets for a flight to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, in the early hours of March 2. The flight took off after a delay of about half an hour. Upon arriving in Dhaka, she purchased a direct flight ticket to Kunming that same afternoon and successfully reached China on the evening of March 2.
Afterwards, Ms. Yu shared her evacuation route on online platforms, hoping to provide reference for other stranded travelers.
She also disclosed her expenses for this journey: around 4,500 dirhams (approximately 9,000 RMB) for the car from Dubai to Oman; over 15,000 RMB spent on standby flight tickets to Bangkok, which could not be refunded due to exceeding the time limit; roughly 25,000 RMB for four tickets from Oman to Dhaka; and approximately 11,000 RMB for the flight from Dhaka to Kunming, totaling nearly 60,000 RMB.
She expressed that after experiencing the overnight rush and sudden changes in the situation, she further realized how precious it is to “safely return home.”