The first flight from Abu Dhabi landed at Bengaluru‘s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday night (March 2), days after passengers were stranded amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. The conflict led to major flight disruptions and airspace closure across the Middle East, causing panic and anxiety among passengers. As the first flight landed in Bengaluru, passengers recounted the horror of being stuck in Abu Dhabi.
One of the passengers shared his experience, saying that they had heard explosions around the hotel, which was very scary.
“It was very scary. The airline shifted us to a hotel, and there were explosions around the hotel. Missiles were being intercepted, and we could hear explosions all around. We are happy to be back in India,” the passenger told ANI news agency.
#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka: Amid flight disruptions over the past few days due to the Israel-Iran conflict, the first flight from Abu Dhabi landed at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International AirportA passenger said, "It was very scary. The airline shifted us to a hotel, and… pic.twitter.com/oYkgS3RUNU
— ANI (@ANI) March 3, 2026
‘Etihad Airways Took Good Care of Us’
While another traveller praised the airline’s arrangements after flights were grounded at Abu Dhabi. He said, “Etihad Airways took good care of us when we got stuck at the Abu Dhabi airport.”
Thousands of Indians were stranded in the UAE and other Gulf nations amid the ongoing war between US-Israel and Iran, as flights were affected with airspace and airports being shut. However, the flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to India resumed on Monday night, with services to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru among the first to resume operations.
According to a TOI report, when the first flight to Bengaluru took off, an air hostess announced, “Welcome onboard this flight to Bengaluru. Yes, this is the first flight,” bringing joy to the passengers.
#WATCH | On board the Dubai-Bengaluru Emirates flight, an airhostess said, "Welcome onboard this flight to Bengaluru. Yes, this is the first flight." pic.twitter.com/RA6UWLoeEw
— ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2026
One of the passengers shared his experience with ANI, saying that they got very little time to make arrangements and had to rush to the airport. “We were given very short notice to book the tickets, but we were able to book some tickets and rush to the airport. As of now, I am excited that I am going back home,” he said. He further thanked the UAE authorities for starting the flights.
How Iran’s Retaliatory Strikes Affected Flight Operations?
The United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on Saturday (February 28). Since then, Iran has launched retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, targeting airports in its Arab neighbours, to pressure the two countries to end the war.
As Iran hit the globally connected nerve centre of its Gulf neighbours, it has severely affected air travel, with several airports and airspace shut down amid the ongoing war. From Dubai to Bahrain, Iran has hit several airports in the retaliatory strikes to build pressure on the US and Israel.
The chaos across the Middle East has affected passengers who were scheduled to travel or had upcoming flights. Some passengers witnessed delayed flights, while other cancellations, and have been stuck since then, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
