Amid widespread travel disruptions in the UAE triggered by the sudden escalation of the Israel–US–Iran conflict, Esha Gupta found herself stranded in Abu Dhabi.
On February 28, the actor shared that she was stuck in the city as tensions surged across the Middle East following missile strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, which caused significant air traffic disruptions. By March 3, she confirmed that she had safely returned home, while also reflecting on what she witnessed and experienced over the past few days during the unrest.
In a long note shared on her Instagram account, Esha detailed her experiences. She began, “Back home. Thank you for all the prayers and wishes. It was very tough to be in the situation that we all were. Truly gods blessings to safe! It started when I was at the airport on the 28th (Sunday). By 1 pm the airport was closed, chaos all around as none of us knew what happened. Then the news started coming of the missile attack, and no one knew what the next minute held for us. Strangers consoling each other, all calling their families back home.”
She added, “Here, I would like to mention that what I saw was strength of a country which is UAE. We were at the Abu Dhabi airport. The ground staff and airport security immediately lunged to action and stayed calm throughout even though we were all in this situation together. I hadn’t checked in myself by then so I took a turn and left back to my hotel in Abu Dhabi.”
Esha then recounted some of the stories she had heard from people at the hotel. The actor mentioned that passengers were provided with cash for meals at the airport, and every single passenger was accommodated in the available hotels in Abu Dhabi, as per government arrangements.
She went on to commend the hotel management team for their exceptional handling of the situation, noting how everyone worked tirelessly for hours amid the chaos. “Not once did we see the people, all scared internally but no one created stress, we were all in this together,” she wrote.
Esha added that she was lucky to be on the first commercial flight of Etihad which flew to Delhi on March 2. She concluded by saying, “Thank you to everyone who helped and are helping people of the world to get back to their home. Your country is truly special. Thank you for our government for providing citizens with reassurance and working towards getting us all back. Thank you to UAE government in working in solidarity with every country for the citizens of the world! Radhe Radhe.”
