Businessman Describes Harrowing Experience After Dubai Hotel Drone Attack
A businessman has recounted a "nerve-wracking" ordeal after his hotel in Dubai was set on fire by a drone. Stuart Carson was staying at the Fairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai on Saturday when the incident occurred.
He returned home on Tuesday night, following multiple flight cancellations caused by the closure of nearly all airspace in the Middle East amid United States-Israeli attacks on Iran. Thousands of flights were cancelled as a result.
Carson explained that the situation in Dubai became apparent on Saturday morning when he heard loud bangs, initially thinking they were from nearby construction work. Subsequently, he observed Iranian missiles and drones being intercepted in the sky.
He was inside the hotel when the drone struck the building, causing his "whole room to completely shake."
"It was very nerve-wracking,"he told NI's Evening Extra programme.
"The drone struck close to one of my friend's rooms.
He was there with his son. He called me and said, we've been attacked in some way, shape, or form."
The father of two described chaotic scenes in the hotel lobby following the attack.
"The front doors were damaged, and one of the bell boys was being pulled away. At that point, we just didn't know what to do."
Carson, from Holywood in County Down, took immediate shelter at a nearby beach before spending the remainder of the evening in the hotel's basement.
"Once dawn broke, we started to feel a bit more comfortable with the situation and just gathered our thoughts and had breakfast in the hotel,"he said.
"We decided just to get out of there. So we headed north and booked into a hotel where it was a lot quieter."
With many flights from the Middle East cancelled, Carson faced difficulties returning to Northern Ireland. His original British Airways flight was cancelled, prompting him to book several alternative flights, including one to Belfast via Birmingham.
It was this flight that brought him back to Belfast City Airport on Tuesday evening.
"We were looking at all options but we wanted to just focus on trying to get as close to home as possible,"he said.
"When we were watching the map on the flight, we knew we were kind of out of the danger zone.
So after the first hour, we started to feel relief."
Carson described the experience as "surreal" and expressed eagerness to reunite with his family and dog, and to enjoy a glass of wine.
Irish Citizens Returning Home Amid Flight Disruptions
Meanwhile, an Emirates flight from Dubai to Dublin is scheduled to land on Tuesday night, carrying passengers whose flights were cancelled over the weekend.
Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee stated that the flight would carry more than 400 people.
"The focus for airlines was their customers and people stuck in transit,"McEntee said.
The flight is expected to arrive at approximately 22:00 local time in Dublin.
A second flight directly from Dubai to Dublin is planned for Thursday, with another 400 passengers on board.
