First Resumed Dubai-Shanghai Flight Lands, Bringing Home Stranded Travelers

The first direct commercial flight from Dubai to Shanghai in nearly a week touched down at Pudong International Airport on Thursday night.

The arrival marked a key step in clearing a backlog of an estimated 20,000 travelers stranded across the United Arab Emirates following a sudden escalation in the Middle East regional conflict.

Aviation authorities launched "rescue corridors" on March 2, enabling a gradual resumption of long-haul services to Asia.

Emirates Flight EK304, operated by a Boeing 777, took off from Dubai at 9:43am local time and landed in Shanghai around 9:30pm on Thursday, carrying more than 300 stranded passengers.

In the arrival hall of Pudong T2, the usual signs of travel fatigue were nowhere to be found. Despite the seven-hour-and-50-minute journey, the faces of the arriving passengers were filled with smiles rather than exhaustion.

"We are finally back home. Everyone is exhausted, but we are just so happy to be on this plane," said a passenger surnamed Mao.

"It is so good to be home," said one mother as she walked through the gate holding her young daughter's hand. "I always believed we would make it back."

"From the moment we entered the Dubai airport to reaching the gate, it took just 45 minutes, including processing tax refunds," recalled a passenger surnamed Shen.

She said the airport felt fully operational despite the recent strikes, with clear signage and staffed restaurants.

"It didn't look like a place that had just been under attack," she said.

The Dubai-Shanghai flight follows Wednesday's resumption of service to Guangzhou and Hong Kong, which together carried over 700 passengers.

Over the past week, many Chinese travelers have grappled with repeated flight cancellations, rebooking hassles, and mounting hotel expenses.

Hailey, a traveler on the Dubai-Shanghai flight, was trapped in Dubai as air raid sirens became a nightly routine. She watched missile interceptions from the lobby of her hotel.

"I didn't know the girl sitting next to me in the lobby, but we held each other and cried when the sirens went off. Under that kind of stress, you find a bond with strangers that you will never forget," Hailey told Shanghai Daily.

Hailey originally booked a direct flight with China Eastern Airlines. When that was canceled, she spent thousands of dollars out of pocket for a new seat on Emirates. The airline did not cover her hotel stays. She relied on the kindness of other stranded citizens to share food and information.

Yan Mumu, who was also on the Flight EK304, said Emirates provided accommodation and meals because she had booked directly through the airline's website.

Airline staff visited carrier-partner hotels every night at 8pm to process rebookings for the following day.

"They prioritized people based on their original departure date. The staff told us exactly which flights were confirmed to fly, which took away the guesswork," Yan said.

Emirates has announced that the carrier is prioritizing passengers with existing bookings made prior to the February 28 shutdown.

"I just hope other stranded Chinese can fly back safely soon," Hailey said after landing at the Pudong airport.

The flight disruption began on February 28 when Israel, Iran and Iraq closed their airspace, grounding all civil flights in the region.

The cancellation rate for Middle East flights dropped to 23 percent on Thursday, according to data from flight service provider VariFlight. This is a major improvement from the 36 percent cancellation rate earlier in the week.

Dubai International Airport is now seeing a surge in activity. By 6:30pm Beijing time on Thursday, the airport recorded 86 departures, more than double the volume seen during the same period on Wednesday.

Most of these departures are operated by Emirates and Flydubai to evacuate stranded travelers rather than maintain regular schedules.

Chinese carriers are also resuming operations in the region. Air China flight CA789 took off from Beijing to Riyadh on Thursday afternoon.

The Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft marked the first flight by a Chinese airline into the Middle East since the conflict began. The return flight, CA790, is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Friday.

Despite the progress, ticket prices for available seats skyrocketed. A one-way economy seat of Emirates from Dubai to Shanghai, for instance, has surged to 16,850 yuan (US$2,443).

While flights to China and Southeast Asia are moving toward a regular schedule, recovery remains fragile. Some European carriers have extended their suspensions for most Gulf routes through March 8.