Mumbai, March 3 Bollywood actress Esha Gupta has returned home safely after being stranded in Abu Dhabi following a sudden missile scare amid growing tensions in West Asia, and expressed gratitude to the UAE authorities and the Indian government for ensuring the safety of passengers.
Esha took to Instagram, where she wrote a long note sharing her experience. She wrote: "Back home. Thank you all for your prayers and wishes. It was very tough to be in the situation that we all were. Truly, a blessing!"
The actress revealed that the situation unfolded in the afternoon of the 28th while she was at the airport.
"It started when I was at the airport on the 28th (Sunday). By 1pm, the airport was closed, and there was chaos as none of us knew what had happened. Then, news started coming in about the missile attack, and no one knew what the next minute would bring for us. Strangers were consoling each other, and everyone was calling their families back home," she wrote.
Esha said she witnessed firsthand the resilience of the UAE while she was at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.
"The ground staff and airport security immediately took action and remained calm, even though we were all in this situation together. I hadn't checked in yet, so I left for my hotel in Abu Dhabi. The following are the stories that we heard firsthand from the people we met later that night at the hotel," she said.
She added that she returned to her hotel because she hadn't yet checked in for her flight. Later, at the hotel, she heard accounts from fellow passengers about the arrangements made for those stranded at the airport.
"First, they gave all the passengers some cash to buy food at the airport. Of course, everyone had to wait for their luggage and for the authorities to sort things out. But after a few hours, everyone was waiting in line, and they were all provided with accommodation at the available hotels in Abu Dhabi. By 9pm that night, they had buses ready for transfers to different hotels across the city and island," she said.
According to her, the government had already directed hotels to provide accommodation and food even before the news was widely reported.
She added: "Again, this didn't mean that there were strangers in the rooms, but they made sure that only families or friends were together. We were all receiving notifications and alarms on our phones from the UAE authorities, urging us to seek shelter. We were also receiving reassurance alerts when the situation seemed calm to them."
Esha also praised the hotel staff and essential service providers for continuing their duties amid uncertainty.
"The hotel staff I saw were still working and taking care of everything, even though they didn't know all the answers. They were doing their best to help," she said.
"The delivery men (Careem) were still out there delivering. There was no shortage of any service anywhere. The lobby was full of people, including us, due to the security alert, but there was no chaos. The hotel security kept reassuring everyone."
"Not once did we see people, all scared internally, but no one created any stress. We were all in this together. Etihad had sent us all emails/messages to rebook or get refunds."
"We kept calling the airline in the hope of being on the next flight home. It didn't matter which city we landed in, as long as we could get back to our own country. The ground staff from Etihad were the most helpful, and they were very calm. We had reached the airport much earlier, so we were lucky to be on the first commercial flight of Etihad, which flew to Delhi yesterday afternoon."
"The airport was not fully functional, but the staff was ready to help in every way, even if they didn't know all the answers yet."
Concluding her note, Esha expressed appreciation for the coordinated efforts of the authorities.
"All this shows the strength and backbone of a country. They took action when needed, without blaming anyone, and made strong decisions. Thank you to everyone who has helped and is helping people from all over the world to return home. Your country is truly special," she said.
She also thanked the Indian government and the UAE leadership for working together to ensure the safe return of citizens.
"Thank you to our government for providing reassurance to its citizens and for working towards getting us all back. Thank you to the UAE government for working in solidarity with every country for the citizens of the world! Radhe Radhe," she concluded the post.
