Applause at Auckland Airport as first flight arrives from Dubai since war began

Emirates flight EK448 from Dubai landed in Auckland on Saturday, reuniting Claire Eadie with her daughter-in-law Rebecca Fleming and her three grandchildren. Photo / Pretoria Gordon, RNZ

By Pretoria Gordon of RNZ

Those waiting outside Auckland International Airport’s arrival area erupted into applause after the landing of the first flight from the Middle East since the recent conflict began.

Emirates flight EK448 from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates arrived at 11.30am on Saturday.

A second flight from Dubai, through Sydney, landed in Christchurch at 2pm.

The flights follow a partial reopening of airspace amid the conflict in the Middle East.

Michelle Frankham and her husband, Mark Frankham, were some of the first at Auckland Airport on Saturday.

Michelle Frankham hugs her friend Yvonne. Photo / Pretoria Gordon, RNZ

The couple were waiting for Michelle Frankham’s friend Yvonne, along with Yvonne’s husband and two children.

The family were returning to New Zealand after living in Dubai for a year.

“We’re here to welcome them home, because I know that they spent their last night curled up in their bathroom with two young teenage girls, so we’re here with a car full of groceries and some gift baskets to make them feel better,” Michelle Frankham told RNZ.

“We’re just relieved that they’re coming home.”

Grandma Claire Eadie (left) welcomed relatives on the flight arriving in Auckland from Dubai with hugs. Photo /Pretoria Gordon, RNZ

Claire Eadie was waiting for her daughter-in-law Rebecca Fleming and her three grandchildren.

Eadie’s son remained in Dubai but had told Eadie her grandchildren were upset by the alerts that warned of incoming missiles.

“I think they are so stressed, I think it’s been a really hard week for them,” Eadie said.

“I think they’re very sad at leaving their dad behind, but they must feel a huge sense of relief to have left.”

As a grandmother and mother-in-law, Eadie was overjoyed to have her family back in New Zealand.

“You don’t ever imagine your children in a war zone.

“[I’m] heartbroken that my son isn’t here too, but very relieved that my daughter-in-law and grandchildren will be safe now.”

Eadie said the rest of the day would be spent in “peace and quiet”.

Fleming said all three of her children were born in the Middle East and it was bittersweet to have left her home – and her husband.

The flight was originally scheduled for Sunday, Fleming said, so she only had half an hour to pack before heading to the airport.

She estimated there were 30 to 40 people on the flight.

David Ramsay was waiting for his wife, Leonie Ramsay, who had been in Dubai since February 20.

“I was going to go up last week, but as I was about to leave, they closed the airspace,” he said.

While they had spoken “several times a day” since then, both burst into tears upon being reunited.

“Really good to be home,” Leonie Ramsay said. “Really good to have her home,” David Ramsay added.

Louise Kyle, who came from Scotland, also burst into tears when she was reunited with her husband.

“It is so lovely to be home, it’s so lovely to call New Zealand home, lovely to be on the other side of the world.”

She had been stuck in Dubai for three days, listening to a “missile threat” alert from Civil Defence every hour or so.

Margaret Grogan reuniting with her husband. Photo / Pretoria Gordon, RNZ

Margaret Grogan was also relieved to have made it back to her “second home”. She was en route from South Africa when she got stuck in the Middle East because of the conflict.

“I love New Zealand. I’m from Ireland and this is ... my second home. I absolutely love it.

“When they asked me: ‘Where are you from?’ I said New Zealand. [They said]: ‘Isn’t that the safest place in the world to be in right now?’ And I said absolutely ... very, very safe.”

While most of the passengers on the flight were returning home, one tourist had come to visit New Zealand for the first time.

Richard Parnicky, who is an expatriate living in Dubai, was planning to meet up with friends in Auckland.

“It was a very peaceful flight. It was basically empty... I was looking forward to going to New Zealand for quite some time and here I am now.”

– RNZ