After the military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, the situation in the Middle East has become tense, leading to a severe disruption of air travel at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates. Many Chinese tourists found themselves stranded at the airport, experiencing multiple flight cancellations and skyrocketing ticket prices. Some Chinese individuals shared their ordeals, with one person mentioning enduring seven flight cancellations before finally biting the bullet and spending 54,000 RMB on a first-class ticket for their journey back home.
According to a report by the “China News Weekly,” a tourist named Liu Yi, who was stuck in Dubai, recalled arriving on February 27 only for their trip to come to a halt soon after. “When the alarm went off at night, I immediately ran to the parking lot to hide, and didn’t dare return to my room until four in the morning,” Liu Yi said. She spent two full days hiding in the hotel and still carries psychological shadows, admitting, “Sometimes in the morning, when I hear sounds similar to airplanes, I don’t dare to go out on the balcony to check.”
In order to purchase a return ticket to China, Liu Yi tried to place orders dozens of times, experiencing seven flight cancellations before ultimately spending 54,000 RMB on the last remaining first-class ticket, feeling tense throughout the entire boarding process. Finally, on the evening of March 6, they arrived in Beijing.
Another group stranded in Dubai for several days was a Ningbo tour group consisting of 32 elderly individuals. The group’s leader stated that they were originally scheduled to fly directly to Hangzhou on March 6 with Emirates Airlines, with a one-way ticket priced at around 5000 RMB. However, the flight was abruptly canceled on the eve of departure. After various negotiations, the group managed to secure tickets for a direct flight from Dubai to Beijing and returned home on March 6.
Data from Ctrip platform shows that on March 6, economy class tickets for direct flights from Dubai to Haikou had risen to 15,000 RMB; on March 7, all economy class tickets (excluding student specials) to Beijing were sold out, with business class and first-class ticket prices reaching close to 50,000 RMB.
According to Lin Zhijie, an insider in the civil aviation industry, Dubai International Airport processed 92.3 million passengers in 2024, making it the second busiest airport globally, and if international passengers are considered, it rightfully claims the top spot. However, it’s precisely this transit hub status that intensified the impact of the current flight disruptions.
On March 5, Emirates Airlines announced the resumption of a limited number of flights to bring back stranded passengers, prioritizing passengers who had booked tickets earlier and advising those not notified to avoid going to the airport.
Yet, the cloud of uncertainty still lingers. On the morning of March 7, interception operations were reported in the sky above Dubai International Airport, followed by explosion sounds, prompting certain airport passengers to be urgently evacuated to the underground level for safety.