Srijit and Saheli Banerjee, a couple from Baranagar, had gone to Dubai for a holiday with Sushmita Auddy, their school friend. The three were supposed to have flown back to Calcutta on March 1. They were stopped at the gates of Dubai airport and sent back on Saturday because there was a drone attack. They had to endure four cancellations before they could finally reach Calcutta early on Sunday. They shared their week-long ordeal.

Go back immediately. The next attack can happen any time. This was what an army officer told us as our car was at the gates of Dubai International Airport. No vehicle was allowed to drop passengers off at the airport.

Our flight was originally scheduled to depart Dubai at 1.15pm (local time). We had reached the airport around 10.30am. We were on our way to the airport when a drone attack happened. We heard a distant thud, but saw that a building’s facade was charred. We also saw debris on the highway.

After being denied entry, we drove back to the hotel, some 15 minutes from the airport. The hotel staff were very helpful. They gave us the keys to the rooms we had checked out of.

We got a message that our flight had been postponed to 3.15pm local time. We feared that Sunday’s flight would also eventually be cancelled. But desperate to reach home, we hoped against hope. We visited the Emirates office, also near the hotel.

At the office, we were told that the situation had improved, and since we hadn’t received any cancellation message, we should head back to the airport. With renewed hope, we drove back to the hotel, collected our luggage and reached the airport. It was around 1.15pm.

A brief setback came when we received another message that said the flight had been further postponed to 5.15pm. But things were visibly improving, and the airport staff confirmed it.

We heaved a sigh of relief when the boarding call was issued around 5.30pm local time. The flight finally left around 6.05pm.

Around five and a half hours later, the illuminated Calcutta skyline was visible. We had never seemed so happy to see it. The happiness doubled when we saw our parents and friends waiting for us outside.