I was on an Emirates flight to Dubai that turned around because of Iranian missiles

I flew from Mumbai to Dubai on an Emirates repatriation flight, one of several running over the last 24 hours and one of the first flights back into the country since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran at the weekend. Most flights to and from the UAE have been grounded, resulting in hundreds of cancellations, thousands stranded both in and outside the Middle East, and global travel disruption as the strikes in Iran escalated into a wider regional conflict. But on Monday, Emirates and Etihad announced a small number of flights to and from Dubai: repatriation flights for Emirati nationals and residents, and others to evacuate tourists stranded in the country. But with around just 30 minutes left of the 3.5-hour journey from Mumbai to Dubai, the captain of the Emirates flight — an Airbus A380, which was only about half full — informed passengers we would have to turn around due to missiles fired by Iran on the UAE. Immigration at Dubai Airport on March 3 Emma Graham, CNBC About 15 minutes later, the captain told passengers that the airspace had reopened, and we had clearance to land in Dubai, where we arrived at an almost empty airport. The arrivals board was blank, but a small number of passengers appeared to be departing on repatriation flights back to the U.K. Arrivals board, Dubai Airport When the war began, I was on holiday in Goa, India with my partner and due to fly back on Sunday, but our direct flight home to the UAE was cancelled. My bosses suggested I go to CNBC's bureau in Singapore to wait out the conflict and work from there. We headed to the airport in Goa on Monday night to catch our flight via Mumbai to Singapore. When we reached Mumbai's airport, we checked the departures board for our Singapore leg and saw an Emirates flight departing for Dubai at 2:20 am. I had been in touch with Emirates, Etihad and Dubai Airports all weekend for my reporting, but was shocked to see a flight. We went to the Emirates desk to find out more. Mumbai Airport arrivals board...