A couple jetting off for a “relaxing” vacation together in Dubai got a shock when they woke mid-flight to discover they were instead heading to Zurich in Switzerland.
Ruby Croxford, 24, and her partner Jack, who are from Hampshire in the U.K., had been looking forward to spending 10 nights together in the United Arab Emirates. “We were going to Dukes The Palm in Dubai,” Croxford told Newsweek. “Everyone said how great Dubai was, so we wanted to see what it was all about and have a nice relaxing break.”
The trip started out relaxing enough and, a couple of hours into their British Airways flight, both Ruby and Jack nodded off, assuming that they would eventually wake up in Dubai—but that wasn’t the case.
“We both woke up at one point about 2 a.m. U.K. time and the flight map time had increased to three hours but was appearing to show that we were stuck near Cairo,” Croxford said. “We thought it was a glitch with the system so went back to sleep.”
Yet, within a couple more hours, they would wake again to discover their plane was being forced to make a dramatic U-turn. “Just before 5 a.m. we woke up to a captain’s announcement, we thought we were coming into land, but he told us that the U.S. had attacked Iran overnight,” Croxford said. “Air-traffic control and national security had come to a tough decision and, for our own safety, we had to turn around. He apologized and said that our safety was our main priority.”
British Airways moved to cancel flights from London Heathrow to Dubai and Doha on Sunday in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s missile strike on Iran. Flights that had already taken off, meanwhile, were diverted.
A statement from British Airways to British newspaper The Telegraph said: “As a result of recent events, we have adjusted our flight schedule to ensure the safety of our customers and crew, which is always our top priority. We are contacting our customers to advise them of their options while we work through this developing situation.”
Croxford wouldn’t be heading home just yet, though. “We didn’t have enough fuel to get back to the U.K. so we were diverted to Switzerland,” she said. “The crew had worked their maximum hours so needed a break before they could fly again. We were told we would either have to wait until the crew rested to return back to Heathrow or wait until another crew were flown to Switzerland.”
Despite the upheaval and uncertainty, Croxford was full of praise for the way staff on the flight handled the situation. “They were calm and very attentive, answering people’s questions, and they also helped a young boy who needed to get home to Dubai,” she said. “I take my hat off to them as some customers were moaning at them.”
That didn’t stop Croxford from being left “completely shocked” at what was unfolding. “We didn’t actually know what had happened until we connected to the WiFi on the plane and told our family. They explained everything and told us to come straight home and not get back on a flight to Dubai.”
Croxford said how other passengers were “panicking” and “arguing with staff” when they arrived in Switzerland. They felt differently, though. “We were just thankful and grateful to be out of the situation and safe. Switzerland is beautiful, and we did feel safe landing there,” she said.
After a couple of hours’ delay, the couple departed back on a flight bound for London before heading straight home. It made for quite the experience and one Croxford felt compelled to share to social media in a video posted under the handle @rubytuesday_. At the time of writing, the clip has been watched over 579,000 times.
And there was a happy ending. Croxford was able to get a full refund for their holiday to Dubai, and the couple are now off enjoying the sunshine in Tenerife. “We won’t be returning to Dubai anytime soon; we want to wait until everything has calmed down and settled,” Croxford said.
Newsweek has reached out to British Airways for comment.
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