War in Iran leaves Dorset couple stranded in Dubai

Missile attacks and airport closures caused by the US-Israel war with Iran left a couple from Dorset stranded in Dubai for nearly three weeks.

Revd Louise and Revd Richard White travelled to Dubai for a short family visit. The pair, whose shared ministry is in the villages of Church Knowle, Corfe Castle, Kimmeridge, Kingston, Langton Matravers, Steeple with Tyneham and Worth Matravers, had travelled to the city in the United Arab Emirates on 27 February for what was meant to be a six-day trip. They were visiting their 28-year-old daughter, Laura, who has been living and teaching in Dubai for the past two and a half years.

But within hours of their arrival, airports were closed and flights were grounded due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, leaving the couple unable to return home.

Louise said: “We landed in Dubai just before midnight and the following morning received messages telling us that the airports were shut.

“At first, we thought it must be a rumour and we didn’t quite believe it. It took us a while to understand what was really happening and to overcome our disbelief that we were actually caught up in the situation with no knowledge of when we would be able to return. But we were both so grateful that we were there with our daughter, to experience it with her and find our way through together.”

The couple began receiving daily alerts on their phones warning them of incoming strikes and often heard the booms caused by Iranian missiles and drones being intercepted, leaving nothing but smoke in the sky.

Despite the danger, Louise says day-to-day life was otherwise quite ordinary.

“It was very real and very nearby initially, and the first few days were quiet,” she recalled. “But people soon adapted: the parks were busy with families and children, cafés were full, people were walking, running, exercising their dogs, just doing normal life.”