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"It's scary," Dubai in distress, under attack from Iran

2026-03-02 22:16:13Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"It's scary," Dubai in distress, under attack from Iran
Dubai in distress, under attack from Iran

Dubai is experiencing difficult days after missile and drone attacks from Iran. For three days, residents and tourists have mostly stayed at home, while the United Arab Emirates authorities are trying to protect the airspace.

Luxury hotels and the city's main airport, the world's busiest for passenger traffic, were damaged.

The BBC has spoken to residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as tourists, who describe situations far removed from the normality of everyday life.

Becky Williams said she saw about 15 missiles “launched from behind my house yesterday,” referring to missiles launched by UAE authorities to intercept Iranian missiles. “You can hear the intercepts happening in the air,” she added.

However, Williams said she and her family are staying calm and trusting the UAE military to protect the airspace, believing that "everything will pass quickly."

Iran's attacks in response to American-Israeli strikes continued throughout Sunday.

On Palm Jumeirah, Dubai's luxury artificial archipelago, the five-star Fairmont The Palm hotel was hit by a huge explosion. Debris from an intercepted drone caused a "small fire" on the exterior of the five-star Burj Al Arab hotel.

Another Dubai resident told the BBC: "What we have experienced over the last 24 hours is just a small part of what others are experiencing in conflict zones, so this puts everything into perspective."

Meanwhile, Satya Jaganathan's weekend plans for a Sunday walk were ruined by these developments. "And here we are, sheltering in place," she said.

The 35-year-old said her sister's family and pets were forced to take shelter in their apartment, as they lived near the Jebel Ali port, where there was "a lot of debris falling."

"It's scary," Dubai in distress, under attack from Iran

On Saturday, officials said debris from an "air interception" caused a fire at a terminal at the port, which is the ninth busiest in the world.

“It’s still relatively quiet as there are only loud noises every few hours, but it’s scary because this is not the Dubai we’re used to,” Jaganathan explained.

Dubai International Airport was also damaged in what authorities called an “incident.” Thousands of flights have been suspended to and from the Middle East, in one of the most serious disruptions to global travel since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Judy Trotter was due to return to London from her holiday on Saturday, but when she arrived at the airport she was told all flights had been cancelled.

"I met people who were very upset about their travel plans, there were thousands of people at the airport, I met people who told me they were missing funerals," she said.

She added that many passengers "were in transit, just passing through" and are now stranded.

Trotter was one of about 1,000 remaining passengers who were sent to stay in a hotel, where they were warned to stay away from windows. “There’s a lot of glass in the hotel, which is concerning,” she said, adding that they had heard “a few rockets during the day.”

Another British tourist, Kate Fischer from Buckinghamshire, said she and her family are "very scared".

On Saturday night, she and her partner prepared an "emergency kit" while the children slept, adding that she "wetted bathing suits and towels" with water in case they had to "leave at night in fire conditions."

Sunday, she said, was a strange day. “It’s a very surreal experience to be surrounded by people trying to enjoy the holidays and entertain the kids, while we see visible smoke from nearby areas that have been hit by drones or missiles.”

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Vicky Pattison was among those forced to take refuge in Dubai, a popular destination for the rich and famous.

Pattison was enjoying a vacation with her husband, Ercan Ramada, but their flight to Australia was canceled. On her Instagram, she said: "Our thoughts are with everyone who is feeling uncertain and worried right now."


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