Emirates’ first flight to Calcutta since February 28 departed from Dubai on Saturday evening, after several hours of delay due to a drone attack near Dubai International Airport.
The flight left Dubai around 7.45pm IST, marking Emirates’ first service to Calcutta since the outbreak of the war in West Asia, airport officials and tour operators said. It had initially been scheduled to land in Calcutta around 6.50pm.
Fares for the flight ranged between ₹15,500 and ₹20,000, according to travel agents.
The last Emirates flight before the suspension had departed Dubai at 9.35am on February 28, prior to the airspace closures.
Saturday’s delay followed an alleged drone attack near Dubai airport’s main terminals in the morning, which led to a temporary suspension of operations.
Visuals showing a massive ball of smoke engulfing the area went viral, and passengers inside the airport rushed into train tunnels at the airfields after an alert was sounded, the Associated Press reported.
In response, UAE authorities issued an emergency safety notice instructing all passengers and airport personnel to move immediately to designated shelters in the terminal building, stay away from windows and follow airport staff instructions.
Earlier on Saturday, a flydubai flight carrying 163 stranded passengers from Dubai arrived in Calcutta at 12.53am. It returned to Dubai at 1.59am with 92 passengers.
Another flydubai flight had landed on Thursday with 130 passengers; it was the first flight to Calcutta from a
West Asian destination since February 28.
A Qatar Airways cargo flight from Hong Kong to Doha was diverted to Calcutta due
to sudden airspace restrictions on Saturday, Calcutta airport officials said. It departed later.
Emirates and other Gulf carriers had begun limited flights earlier this week to evacuate stranded passengers.
Many Calcuttans stranded in West Asia have begun returning via alternate routes, including a group of 22 tourists who had travelled to Egypt and were unable to leave.
They returned to Calcutta on Friday.
