Dubai: Calm reined at major Dubai institutions linked to a flydubai plane crash in marked contrast to the tragic scene unfolding on the ground in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, where 62 passengers lost their lives Saturday morning.
From the quiet of Dubai International Airport to the Russian Consulate in Dubai, appearances suggested all was normal as a world away, Russian emergency and aviation authorities sifted through the disintegrated wreckage of flight FZ-981 which erupted into a fireball amid hurricane-like crosswinds. Read full report
All people aboard, 55 passengers and seven crew, were reported killed as early morning pictures emerged revealing grisly images of debris strewn about the rain-soaked landscape of the southern Russian airport.
Dubai International Airport Terminal 2 operated as usual on Saturday morning, although a number of flydubai flights were cancelled.
Flights to Muscat and Basra were cancelled on Saturday morning due to operational challenges, an official from the information desk said.
A passenger heading to Muscat said, “Our flight was cancelled, along with other flights,” before leaving the terminal. A Dubai resident arrived at the airport sobbing, saying her mother was flying to Belgrade but she wanted her mother off the plane.
“I just want her to transfer to another airline. I’ve been trying to call her but she’s not answering. I requested the officials to help but she said she had already boarded and they could not offload her,” the resident said.
Two passengers, who declined to be named, said: “Our flights have been cancelled twice now. And we don’t even know why.”
Minutes later, passengers smartphones flashed the news that a flydubai plane crashed in Russia.
Despite the grim news, the passengers continued along their way without saying a word.
Gulf News contacted flydubai regarding the cancelled flights but no comment was forthcoming as of presstime.
Additional staff were sent to the Arrivals area where relatives of the deceased were expected to gather on Saturday morning but by early afternoon, no relatives appeared.
Meanwhile, at the Russian Consulate in Dubai, a lone Dubai Police officer was standing guard outside the facility tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood just south of Madinat Jumeirah.
While a special hotline was set up for any relatives of the deceased to call in Dubai, the policeman turned visitors away noting that the consulate is closed on Friday and Saturday.
