‘My son is stuck in hospital as Iran attacks’

A woman says she feels distraught that her son was stuck in a Dubai hospital during Iranian rocket and missile strikes.

Fiona, from Sussex, said the UAE closed its airspace “literally minutes” after her 23-year-old son Cameron landed in the city on a connecting flight returning from India.

“He was only supposed to be at Dubai airport for two hours,” she told BBC Radio Sussex.

Fiona said her son – who had never traveled alone – then developed a serious stomach illness and was taken to hospital for treatment.

“It’s horrible,” she said. “[I am] trying to keep stress under control.

“Let’s find you a flight.”

Cameron had taken a work trip to India with others, although they had all returned to the UK or were still there, according to Fiona.

She said she had two calls with her son, who was now “on the mend.”

Fiona says the 23-year-old must complete his medical treatment before he can return home.

“I would love to tell him ‘let’s get on a flight now and get out of there – if possible’, but he has to be pretty well.”

Iran’s conflict with the United States and Israel, which began on February 28, has caused numerous airspace closures in the Middle East.

Flights have been significantly disrupted, with around half a million passengers a day using Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi airports – vital hubs for travel between Europe, Asia and Australia.

A handful of flights are expected to bring British nationals stranded in the Middle East back to the United Kingdom on Tuesday, but the majority of departures from the region remain canceled.

Emirates plans to operate one flight each to Gatwick and Manchester, as well as two to Heathrow.

Cameron is not expected to return Tuesday, according to his mother.

Daniel Moon, from Brighton, traveled to Dubai on a photography trip and was due to leave early on Monday morning.

However, he told the BBC his flight was pushed back to Tuesday and then cancelled.

Moon said that although Saturday was “pretty surreal,” things had “calmed down.”

He added that his biggest concerns were about returning home and the cost of staying in Dubai, as he was paying around £150 a night for his hotel.

“I’m diabetic and I have enough insulin for about five days. After that I’ll have to buy more locally or see a doctor, so that worries me a little too,” he said.

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