Hong Kong resident Shirley Sung spent about HK$11,000 (US$1,400) on flights and hotels before finally returning home after eight failed attempts to leave Dubai amid Middle East tensions.
The 30-year-old had traveled alone to the United Arab Emirates to attend a wedding, but her trip was disrupted when Iran launched retaliatory drone and missile attacks across the region following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Sung bought nine tickets to Hong Kong in total, though eight were canceled at no cost. She eventually secured a one-way flight from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur last Friday for HK$6,000.
Passengers walk through a jet bridge at Dubai International Airport, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 8, 2026. Photo by Reuters |
She then spent about HK$2,000 on a two-night stay in Kuala Lumpur before taking a HK$3,000 AirAsia flight to Hong Kong. She arrived back on Sunday evening.
“I started looking at Emirates [airline] and booked two tickets to available Asian destinations each day for four days, but it was a repetitive cycle of hope and disappointment. I would book one and then it would be cancelled. The process was very frustrating,” Sung told the South China Morning Post after landing in Hong Kong.
Sung was among 370 Hong Kong residents who had safely left the Middle East as of 5 p.m. Sunday, according to the country’s Immigration Department.
It said 14 people returned on a direct flight from Dubai on Sunday after arrangements made between the Hong Kong government and Emirates.
The conflict has disrupted air travel across the Middle East since it began on Feb. 28. More than 37,000 scheduled flights had been canceled as of Sunday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
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