Bhubaneswar: Senior business management professional and noted Odia scuba diver, Priyadarshee Panigrahi, and his wife Soumitri Nanda returned to Dubai on February 28, just hours before widespread flight suspensions crippled air travel across the United Arab Emirates amid the escalating tensions in West Asia.
The couple had traveled to Sambalpur in Odisha to attend the twelfth-day shraddha (memorial) ceremony of Priyadarshee’s aunt, former BJD MLA and noted gynaecologist Raseswari Panigrahi, who passed away on February 16 evening.
Priyadarshee, son of former minister Sriballav Panigrahi, and wife Soumitri, a regulatory affairs expert, had left behind their two daughters, aged 15 and 9, along with Priyadarshee’s 88-year-old father-in-law, under the care of their nanny in Dubai.
After attending to well-wishers and other mourners during the 12th day ceremony in Sambalpur, in the afternoon of February 27, the couple returned to the UAE via Abu Dhabi on the morning of February 28. Their journey home involved a challenging multi-leg trip: driving from Sambalpur to Jharsuguda airport, flying to Kolkata, and then catching an early morning flight to Abu Dhabi on February 27. They arrived safely before the escalating regional tensions led to missile attacks and retaliatory strikes, forcing authorities to suspend flight operations at major UAE airports.
They shudder to think how the children and the elderly family member would have managed had they been stranded in India due to the sudden flight suspensions.
On February 28, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran launched retaliatory ballistic missiles and drones targeting sites across the region, including Gulf states hosting US military assets. The UAE, along with Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, closed its airspace as a precautionary measure. Major hubs like Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport sustained damage from strikes or interception debris, leading to thousands of flight cancellations, diversions, and suspensions by carriers including Emirates, Etihad, and flydubai.
Priyadarshee and Soma count themselves fortunate to have made it back home safely just in time.
As limited flights began resuming in the UAE on March 2 evening, their timely arrival underscored the unpredictability of travel during regional conflicts.
