Passengers were hurriedly evacuated from one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday after reports of an attack by Iran as Iran attacked travel hubs in the U.S.-friendly Gulf state.
Dramatic footage shows people fleeing through a smoke-filled hallway at Dubai International Airport, with authorities confirming four staff members were injured.
Airport officials did not say what prompted the evacuation. But aviation officials told Reuters that overnight Iranian attacks had damaged one of the airport’s terminals.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the largest tourism and trade center in the Middle East. The airport is one of the busiest in the world and serves as the home base for major international airline Emirates.
UAE airports have established themselves as important hubs for connecting flights around the world. Last year, the Dubai and Abu Dhabi hubs handled a combined 127.7 million passengers, according to official figures.
Other Gulf states, including Qatar and Bahrain, have also come under attack, shattering the kingdom’s sophisticated image as a luxurious haven in a volatile region.
The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain all host US military bases and have been targeted by Iran since Saturday in retaliation for the US and Israel’s attack on the Islamic Republic and the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Dubai Airport’s concourse suffered “minor damage” and emergency response teams were “immediately deployed” during the evacuation on Sunday, Dubai Airports told CNN.
“Four staff members were injured and received immediate medical treatment.”
Witnesses told CNN that an ambulance rushed to the airport after the emergency occurred.
Dubai Airports confirmed that all flights to and from the city’s two main airports have been suspended until further notice.
“Passengers are advised not to go to the airport at this time and to contact their respective airlines directly for the latest information regarding their flights,” Dubai Media Office said.
In Dubai’s luxurious Palm Jumeirah area, the emirate’s global symbol of luxury and tranquility, an explosion struck the Fairmont Hotel, setting it ablaze moments after a video verified by CNN showed the moment a drone appeared to plummet toward the ground.
Elsewhere in the UAE, another drone attack at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, another key international gateway, left one person dead and seven injured, the airport said in a statement on social media.
In Qatar, a missile was intercepted over the capital Doha, and Bahrain International Airport officials said a drone attack had damaged the facility.
Bahrain’s interior ministry said the airstrike caused “no loss of life but property damage”, adding that authorities were securing the scene.
Video geolocated and verified by CNN shows a massive fire breaking out in a residential high-rise building in Bahrain’s capital Manama.
A wide corridor over the Middle East was shut down this weekend.
Airlines suspended flights across the region on Saturday, including to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and flight tracking maps showed the region’s airspace was virtually empty.
Many airports were closed on Saturday. The airline announced flight cancellations and suspensions internationally to the Middle East on Saturday.
Virgin Atlantic announced on Saturday that it had canceled flights from London Heathrow Airport to Dubai as a “precautionary measure”.
Lufthansa has confirmed the cancellation of flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, citing the safety of passengers and crew.
British Airways has announced that it will suspend flights to and from Tel Aviv and Bahrain for several days. It also announced that flights to Amman, Jordan, on Saturday had been suspended.
