As the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran spreads across West Asia, an Emirates flight was seen making a rare manoeuvre in UAE airspace shortly after it was alerted of a missile attack on the country.
As per Flightradar24 data, Emirates flight – EK501 – bound for Dubai was held outside of UAE airspace on Tuesday morning after the ministry of defence alerted air defenses were engaging ballistic missiles launched from Iran. Follow LIVE updates on the US Iran conflict here
According to live plane tracker on the website, the Emirates plane, which took off from Mumbai in Maharashtra, was seen making a double reverse, which is described as “rare”, before ultimately landing in Dubai.
The flight was initially seen heading back to Mumbai, but then resumed its route to Dubai before receiving the hold from authorities due to ongoing fire from Iran.
Amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, limited flight operations were carried out on Monday to evacuate passengers who were left stranded in the region due to the sweeping flight cancellations and airspace closures.
These limited flights were carried out after Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah airports resumed their operations.
Dubai International and Zayed International airports suffered damage during Iranian strikes, largely from debris falling from intercepted drones. One person died in Abu Dhabi.
US, Israel attack Iran
On Saturday, the United States and Israeli militaries launched a joint operation against Iran. During this strikes, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. As Iran launched retaliatory strikes, it vowed to target US and Israeli bases across the region, causing the conflict to spread to the wider West Asia region.
Iran launched drone and missile attacks at US bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and more. Furthermore, the conflict has also expanded to Lebanon, where Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has joined the fight.
