My one-hour flight transfer left me facing 10 days stuck in a city under attack

A Scottish man who expected to spend an hour at Dubai airport transferring flights is facing 10 days trapped in a city under fire from drones and missiles.

Mic Cassidy had his connecting flight to London cancelled on Saturday when Iran launched retaliatory strikes in response to US and Israeli military action.

Three days later he was turned away from a repatriation flight by airline Emirates because his employer had booked him on a flight for the following day - which then ended up being cancelled.

Mic, originally from Glasgow, told BBC Scotland News it was likely to be next week before he gets home despite some flights leaving with empty seats. Emirates has been contacted for comment.

Mic, 32, had been working in the Philippines for a fortnight when he found himself stuck in limbo in Dubai as he attempted to make his way back to the UK.

After spending eight hours at the airport on Saturday he booked into a hotel and says he heard nothing from Emirates "for days" before the airline told him he was booked on a repatriation flight on Tuesday.

But when he arrived at the check-in desk he was told he could not board because he already had a flight for Wednesday. He returned to his hotel and then discovered the following day's flight was cancelled.

He told BBC Scotland's Lunchtime Live: "I'm now on day six here - I've managed to get a new booking for Monday which will be day 10 from which should have been a one-hour transit.

"To be told you're booked on a repatriation flight, taken out of the relative safety of a hotel during a 'shelter in place warning', to travel to an airport which has already sustained damage and then be refused entry to a plane is just chaotic and reckless."

He added that having had two flights cancelled already and being turned away from a third, he had no confidence his flight home on Monday would go ahead.

Mic said many passengers including pregnant women, elderly passengers and single parents with young children were facing a similar situation because Emirates was not allowing people to board repatriation flights if they had a future booking.

He said the policy had led to aircraft leaving Dubai with empty seats and he claimed space on planes was also limited because they were carrying cargo.

Mic, who works in HR, has been told his hotel bills will be covered by the airline, but he said passengers booked on package deals with Emirates Holidays were having to self-fund.

Some hotels are now charging on a daily basis, prompting concern the airline might withdraw financial support, he added.

"That's not been made clear because the communication has been so fragmented and inconsistent," he said.

"So it's creating even more fear and panic for passengers who simply can't afford to stay in Dubai for an indefinite period of time."

While most Iranian drones and missiles have been intercepted, the airport and several hotels in Dubai have been damaged in retaliatory strikes since the US and Israel targeted Iran's missile infrastructure, military sites and leadership.

No-one has yet been reported killed in Dubai, but there have been several injuries.

"You can hear and see fighters jets, drones and missile interceptions and explosions quite clearly," he said.

"They're close enough that you can see them blowing up in the sky. You can hear the impact. It's fairly tense and unsettling."

Mic said people were starting to feel "abandoned" and he believes the UK government should demand answers from Emirates.

He said the airline's messaging meant anyone with a confirmed flight was being denied a place on a repatriation flight - and if that confirmed flight was then cancelled, they fell to the back of the queue .

"There's empty seats on flights, but we're being told to wait days, to sit tight. It's entirely indefensible," he said.