A British couple have recounted the "carnage" of a 22-hour wait at Dubai airport, caught in the aftermath of the US and Israeli bombing of Iran.
Lee Smart, 36, and Nina Luminati, 35, from Thornton Heath, south London, finally arrived back at London Heathrow on Wednesday afternoon.
They had spent the previous night sleeping on chairs in the bustling terminal. The pair were returning from a wedding in India when their connecting flight to the UK was disrupted last Saturday, leaving them stranded in the UAE.
Despite being on multiple waiting lists, the pair struggled to secure a seat amidst thousands of other passengers.
They eventually boarded Emirates flight EK001, which departed Dubai at 7.45am on Wednesday.
Speaking to the Press Association in the arrivals hall at Heathrow Terminal 3, Mr Smart said: “We were advised by our hotel to get to the airport yesterday morning and then it was just a bit of carnage.
“I think many hotels told people the same thing. Maybe they were trying to get people out.
“So some people got on the first repatriation flights, we managed to get on those because we were at the back of the queue.
“It was pretty calm in the city, despite everything that was going on. I think the UAE government did an amazing job to be honest.”
As they arrived back in London, the couple were greeted by Nina’s parents, Sue and Terry Luminati.
Sue, from Teddington, south-west London, said the couple had “scrambled” to get to Dubai airport.
She said: “Once they got there it was an absolute nightmare. There were obviously thousands of people all in the same position.
“It’s very difficult to give advice in this situation because it is so unprecedented.
“Do you get on? Do you stay there and hold your ground?
“Do you get on a plane, or do you go back, try and get a hotel and relax and wait for it to calm down.
“They stayed there, and that’s why they’re on this flight today. Because they were there at the right time to be able to get a seat.”
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