Couple feel 'jettisoned' as they try to leave UAE

A British couple have said they feel "totally abandoned" as they attempt to get home from Dubai amid the US-Israel war with Iran.

Tony Church, 56, and his wife Cynnamon, 52, had flown to the United Arab Emirates to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

They were not able to travel home to Goonhavern in Cornwall on Wednesday, leaving them stuck in a hotel. At one point, they were woken by a missile alert.

The couple said a lack of communication from the government and their tour operator, Etihad Holidays, had left them feeling "jettisoned". The Foreign Office said British nationals who needed consular help should contact the British Embassy. Etihad Holidays was contacted for comment.

On its website, Etihad Holidays said it was working "with the highest priority to arrange the earliest possible and safe return travel for all".

Tony and Cynnamon said they have paid £1,000 for seats on a government repatriation flight, but have not heard when it might be leaving.

Tony said he was running out of medication for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and blood thinning.

He said Etihad Holidays had told them it can no longer pay for the hotel they are being put up in.

"They've emailed us and said from 9 March, we're no longer paying for your accommodation.

"So we're kind of stuck here and nobody is trying to help us."

Cynnamon said the couple just wanted to get home to see their three children and grandchild.

She added: "I think we just feel completely abandoned and there's no support here for us at all."

Cynnamon said Etihad Holidays had stopped replying to her emails.

Thousands of British nationals have been stranded in the UAE and other Middle East countries since the war began.

Many Britons have desperately been trying to find seats on flights home in the region.

Iranian retaliatory attacks have hit a number of neighbouring countries and an RAF base at Akrotiri in Cyprus.

Officials in the UAE said it had detected 238 ballistic missiles from Iran in the past week.

One drone landed near Dubai Airport on Saturday.

Tony said that, at one point, he and his wife were woken by an alarm telling them to take shelter due to an incoming attack.

"We're sat here in the room in the early hours of the morning thinking, 'Is a missile going to hit our balcony now – are we going to die?'," he said.

"That's how it feels out here at the moment."

Tony added it was a "disgrace" that they were having to pay £1,000 for a repatriation flight.

A message on Etihad Holidays' website said a large number of its customers were affected by flight cancellations caused by the conflict.

"We are working with the highest priority to arrange the earliest possible and safe return travel for all affected travellers," the message said.

"However, given the exceptional circumstances and the number of people involved, coordination with airlines, authorities and partners requires additional time and effort."

The Foreign Office has been pointing British nationals to its travel advice web page, where Britons can register their presence in the Middle East and receive direct updates from the government.

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