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A woman from Antrim has said she is not sure when she will be able to return home from the United Arab Emirates as fighting in the Middle East continues.<\/p>\n
Katy McKinney was visiting Dubai with her husband on a business trip when Israel and the US launched an attack against Iran on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).<\/p>\n
McKinney said she was safe but described the situation as surreal after her hotel was evacuated and she and the other guests were moved to a basement early on Sunday.<\/p>\n
“At quarter past two in the middle of the night, there was an emergency message being blared out throughout the hotel,” she told BBC News NI.<\/p>\n
“We basically just threw clothes on, grabbed our phones and just headed to the nearest stairs.”<\/p>\n
Her hotel is near the Fairmont The Palm hotel which was struck by a large explosion.<\/p>\n
“We could actually see the smoke coming from that hotel. It definitely heightened our worry,” McKinney said.<\/p>\n
Guests were able to exit the basement and return to their rooms after a few hours and since then McKinney said she had only been able to hear “banging” in the distance.<\/p>\n
“What frightens myself and my husband is what I think has happened with Fairmont,” she said.<\/p>\n
“The aftermath of a drone or a missile being intercepted. I think that’s what happened. So that is in the back of your mind.”<\/p>\n
The Foreign Office has warned British citizens against all but essential travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.<\/p>\n
People already there have been advised to shelter.<\/p>\n
Flights have been diverted or cancelled, with journeys to and from Tel Aviv, Dubai, Doha and other international hubs affected.<\/p>\n
Dubai International Airport – the world’s busiest by passenger traffic – was damaged in an “incident” that injured four staff, according to authorities.<\/p>\n
McKinney is due to fly from Dubai to Dublin on Wednesday but said that was “up in the air at the minute”.<\/p>\n
She added travellers were being updated about flights every 24 hours.<\/p>\n
“We’re not leaving until Wednesday so we’re hoping that maybe it might start to ease off,” she said.<\/p>\n
“To be honest if this is still going on I don’t know if I would want to get on a flight.”<\/p>\n
Graeme McQueen, from Dublin Airport Authority, said they should have had 12 flights between Dublin Airport and Middle Eastern airports \u2013 Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi – but they have all been cancelled.<\/p>\n
“At the moment, the Middle Eastern carriers are stuck on our runway – we’ve got five planes sitting on the runway since Saturday,” McQueen said.<\/p>\n
“Airlines won’t cancel days in advance because they are hopeful that they will be able to fly in the coming days which isn’t great for passengers.”<\/p>\n
Brian McDaid, from Londonderry, moved to Dubai with his family just a few months ago.<\/p>\n
They are still unpacking boxes, settling into their new home around 25 minutes from Dubai’s downtown area.<\/p>\n
Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle, the Derry teacher said no-one could be sure “how things are going to escalate”.<\/p>\n
“Things are happening around us but I don’t feel in any sort of danger, quite frankly,” he said.<\/p>\n
“When there is an impact we hear it- impact as in the missiles come in, there’s an air defence system that intercepts them and then it’s just falling debris ,” McDaid said.<\/p>\n
Conor Duggan, a teacher from Ballygalget, County Down, who lives in Abu Dhabi, was taking part in a GAA tournament at a stadium near Dubai as events started to unfold.<\/p>\n
It was after his team’s first game, when players started to look through their phones while in the changing rooms, that they became aware of the attack.<\/p>\n
“It was quite an eerie feeling,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Usually in the changing rooms, there’s a bit of craic and banter. You could hear a pin drop, everybody on their phones, just looking.”<\/p>\n
He said he was following advice to stay indoors and had been told teaching would be conducted online until Thursday.<\/p>\n
“We’re not in like a lockdown, it’s not that kind of situation. There still are cars in the road, people still kind of going about normal working life,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It’s a weird feeling like you know you do feel safe because you know these missiles thank god are being stopped in the sky and you’re kind of seeing that happening.”<\/p>\n
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly was briefed by UK security advisers about the crisis in the Middle East on Saturday along with the first ministers of Scotland and Wales.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Good Morning Ulster, Little-Pengelly urged UK and Irish citizens in the region to register their presence as soon as possible through the UK government<\/a> and Irish government<\/a> websites.<\/p>\n “It means that people are giving contact details and they can get information directly to their phones from official outlets,” she said.<\/p>\n Little-Pengelly said it was important to follow official accounts as opposed to “rumours online”.<\/p>\nMore on this story<\/h2>\n
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