Dubai Resident Sunaira Sohail Recalls Terrifying Riyadh Airport Blast, 26-Hour Ordeal at Terminal, Lost Luggage and Overnight Bus Journey Back to UAE.
What was meant to be a solo trip to Bangkok to attend a concert turned into a four-day ordeal for a Dubai resident who became stranded in Saudi Arabia following a Houthi attack on Riyadh airport.
“I felt like the world was ending. I genuinely thought there was no way back,” Sunaira Sohail, a Dubai-based public relations executive, told after returning to the UAE.
Sohail described spending 26 hours stranded inside a terminal at Riyadh airport, witnessing an explosion nearby and eventually making her way back to Dubai on an overnight bus journey.
She was standing in a queue at an airport counter to update her boarding pass for her connecting flight to Bangkok when a Houthi missile reportedly struck the airport.
“It (the blast) literally happened right next to us. The impact was so huge that we were pushed to the left. When we looked to the right, the entire place was filled with smoke,” she recalled.
According to Sohail, emergency alarms began sounding immediately after the explosion, but passengers initially struggled to find airport personnel who could direct them to safety.
“People were screaming and crying. Officials ordered everyone to move to the arrivals area. Transit passengers without entry stamps were worried they would be unable to re-enter the airport, but they were told not to worry,” she recalled.
The situation became even more distressing when mobile phone networks and airport Wi-Fi reportedly stopped working following the blast.
Unable to contact her family in Dubai, Sohail was left waiting without a reliable way to reassure her loved ones that she was safe.
The incident occurred amid widespread disruption to Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector following an escalation in Houthi attacks beginning on October 8.
More than 4,000 flights at airports across Saudi Arabia have reportedly been cancelled during the period, with attacks resulting in deaths and injuries among airport passengers.
Saudi authorities have announced the closure of Riyadh airport until October 17.
Repeated flight delays add to uncertainty
Sohail said she had contacted her airline several hours before departure to check whether escalating regional tensions might disrupt her travel plans.
She was reassured that her flights were operating as scheduled.
Despite the confirmation, she recalled feeling uneasy about the journey.
“But I had this intuitive feeling that something was not right. I was reading Quran the entire time because I was really scared.”
She arrived at Riyadh airport at approximately 1.30am, expecting to board her connecting flight to Bangkok at 2.30am.
However, her onward journey was repeatedly postponed as flight delays continued, leaving her uncertain about when she would be able to depart.
Her flight was initially rescheduled for 5.30am before being pushed back again to 7.30am, adding to the uncertainty surrounding her journey.
Passengers were eventually allowed to board the aircraft at 10.30am, but their relief was short-lived. After spending more than two hours seated on the plane, they were instructed to disembark and return to the airport terminal.
By that point, Sohail said, she and other travellers had spent approximately 26 hours stranded at the airport.
“Like in the movie ‘The Terminal’, we were stuck there for 26 hours.”
Stranded without food or accommodation
According to Sohail, passengers faced hours of uncertainty without adequate access to food, drinking water or accommodation.
She alleged that the airline failed to provide the necessary assistance despite the prolonged disruption.
Passengers were eventually informed that hotel accommodation could be arranged only for travellers holding valid Saudi visas, at a cost of £140.
Desperate to leave the airport, several passengers applied for visas. Sohail, however, initially decided to wait for another promised 2.30am departure to Bangkok.
As the situation continued to deteriorate, she joined a small group of fellow travellers and boarded a free shuttle bus intended to take stranded passengers to nearby hotels.
However, after nearly two hours of travelling between hotels that were already fully booked, the driver dropped the group near a metro station.
“They said, ‘Go find your own accommodation,’” she recalled.
The travellers eventually managed to book an Airbnb approximately 15 minutes from the airport.
Their decision came after police reportedly informed them that the airport would reopen the following day. However, operations did not resume as they had expected.
Missing luggage and a struggle to return home
With her belongings unaccounted for, Sohail spent the following days trying to obtain information about her missing luggage and secure a way back to the UAE.
She said the airline directed her to airport authorities regarding her bags, while airport officials maintained that responsibility rested with the airline.
The conflicting responses left her struggling to establish who could help recover her belongings.
She also encountered difficulties obtaining official documentation confirming that she had been evacuated.
Meanwhile, some of her fellow stranded passengers managed to travel to Doha, Qatar, before boarding connecting flights to destinations including the United Kingdom and the United States.
After several unsuccessful attempts to resolve her travel situation, Sohail applied for an urgent visa and arranged to return to the UAE by road.
She boarded a bus departing Riyadh at 4pm, eventually reaching Abu Dhabi at approximately 9am the following morning.
However, the journey home brought another frightening experience.
Sohail said passengers received mobile phone alerts warning of hostile threats while the bus was travelling towards the UAE.
“We got the alert and looked up, and right in front of our eyes, an interception happened. It’s something you only see in movies.”
More than five days after the disruption, Sohail said she was still waiting for her missing luggage to be returned and had not received any refunds.
Reflecting on an experience that turned her eagerly anticipated first solo holiday into days of uncertainty and fear, she expressed relief at finally reaching home safely.
“It was the complete opposite of what I had imagined for my first solo trip. But, thank God, I’m back in the UAE. And that’s the best part,” she said.
