Warm welcome at Dubai airport for residents fleeing bombings

Dubai: UAE residents fleeing Israeli bombardment in Lebanon were greeted with flowers and refreshments upon arrival in Dubai International Airport yesterday.

Some 235 passengers arrived on a flight specially arranged by Emirates to bring back UAE nationals and expatriates.

"This is one of four special flights from Damascus today. Two planes came yesterday and more are to come tomorrow," said Abdullah Ali Al Redha, the Deputy Director of the Protocol and Public Relations Division of the Department of Civil Aviation at Dubai International Airport.

A total of 600 passengers arrived on Friday on two specially arranged flights, and more than one thousand were expected yesterday.

Ahmad Harbawi, a Jordanian working for an international software company in Dubai, described his ordeal in Lebanon as "terrifying".

Harbawi said fear and silence could be felt in the streets of Beirut. "Everyone who had come to Beirut has left. It's empty, except for those who are stocking up necessities."

Nada Harr, a Lebanese resident of Dubai, said the UAE embassy in Beirut facilitated her trip back to Dubai.

?"They were great help. Everyone was just rushing to leave. We all wanted to get out," she said.