Deserted stretches, boarding gates closed, few passengers, but a large number of airport staff offering assistance — a Calcuttan who works in Europe described the scene at Dubai International Airport to Metro. The man, who frequently flies via Dubai, was stranded at the airport from the afternoon of March 8 to early morning on March 10, due to technical issues with his documents.
Dubai airport is one of the busiest I’ve ever seen. Any time of the day or night, there are thousands of fliers, long queues at counters and boarding gates, crowded shops, lounges and food courts. My usual stopover lasts a few hours at most.
But this time I spent nearly two days there, and I have never seen it so deserted. Most boarding gates were closed, and only a few check-in counters were operating. The number of flights had clearly reduced. I missed the usual hustle and bustle. Most stores in the terminal were open, though few had any customers.
While fliers were few, airport staff were present in large numbers, assisting travellers at every point. Dubai airport has always been hospitable, but this time, because of travel disruptions, the staff went out of their way to help.
A staff member approached me while I was walking to the lounge. “Sir, do you need any assistance regarding direction or flight details?” she asked. I walked across the terminal to get food throughout my stay, and each time, someone was there to guide me. When I asked about the KFC counter, a woman told me it would be a 20-minute walk to another zone. I was surprised by the precision.
There was no panic among the staff or fliers. Everyone was calm; no one was discussing the drone attacks. The extra help from the staff gave fliers a sense of assurance.
The only time I sensed the war was when an airport official on March 8 politely urged me to leave at the earliest. “Given the 50-50 situation, we are trying to send people to their own countries... as quickly as possible. However, nothing has happened here,” she told me.