SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Loved ones reunited at San Francisco International Airport Thursday as the first nonstop flight from the Middle East to the West Coast landed since the war with Iran started.
There were tears, hugs and kisses during the emotional reunions after the Emirates flight landed from Dubai.
Many travelers tell ABC7 Eyewitness News they traveled abroad for work then got stuck in the Middle East as the conflict unfolded. They describe sheltering in place, hearing explosions and feeling the fear and uncertainty of when they’d come back home.
One travel group of 60 people from the Bay Area got stuck in Dubai for three days and were greeted by loved ones with flower bouquets.
A husband and wife were in tears as they embraced. Heather Doherty of Alameda went to India for work, and after her layover flight from Dubai took off Saturday, it turned around back to Dubai because of the conflict.
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Her husband, Jeff, greeted her with flowers.
“I couldn’t be more relieved to be home,” Doherty said. “It was five days of uncertainty but I’m thrilled to be back on American soil.”
Doherty got stuck in Dubai for five days, sheltering in place.
“I spent the first night huddled on the floor next to my bed, worried about the windows exploding- so you hear alerts going off, you hear explosions in the sky,” Doherty said. “It’s hard to know what’s going on. But it’s really unsettling.”
“We had a lovely lunch then the bombing started, so we went back to the hotel and at that point, we were sheltering in place, locked down, doing whatever they told us to do,” said Susan Daley, of Chicago, who was also in the Middle East for work.
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Some travelers booked on the Emirates flight heading from SFO to Dubai Thursday afternoon arrived at the airport well ahead of their flight, checking in and dropping off their luggage.
“The civilians are so safe,” said Venkatesh Jeyaram of Dubai. “We are very well taken care of. I’m absolutely not worried about going back to Dubai.”
Jeyaram and Jayant Deshpande live in Dubai. They were in the Bay Area for an IT conference.
Maria Orozco of Modesto said she had a flight booked to Dubai next month, but was having a hard time getting through to the airline so she went to the airport to see if she could cancel her flight and get a refund. She was concerned about the conflict.
“I’m trying to see if I can maybe change my flight or maybe cancel my flight to Dubai, or just get credit,” Orozco said. “I’m trying to see the options I can get because of all the situation that’s going on in Dubai right now. I don’t see that it’s very safe to be out there right now.”
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