Exclusive| Viineet Kumar Siingh: Everyone’s phones started ringing at the airport when UAE airspace was closed
Actor Viineet Kumar Siingh, who was in Dubai, talks about facing flight delays due to the closure of UAE airspace amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran.
The tensions between Israel and Iran have been getting out of control, and Viineet Kumar Siingh experienced it first hand on Monday. All set to take a flight back home to Mumbai from Dubai, he learnt that the UAE airspace had been closed. He took to his Instagram Stories to share an update, “9:23pm Dubai Time. Immigration Done. Waiting at the gate for my flight. Fingers crossed.”
Talking to HT City exclusively, he reveals how everything unfolded, “I was at the airport, when I suddenly started getting calls and messages. Upon checking, I found that the UAE airspace had been closed due to the situation. There was no activity for some time despite it being a 9:40pm take-off, so I had already understood something is up. But the authorities didn’t let any panic take shape. In some time, everyone’s phones started ringing, but the staff managed everything. We took off around 10:45pm finally.”
Viineet’s family, especially wife Ruchira were extremely worried, he adds, “We are pregnant. Jo door baithe hain ghar ke log, unke chinta toh hoti hi hai. Very few knew though that I am flying out on June 23. I started getting calls from my friends who did know, I told them all is well, and if anything happened I will surely let them know.”
The 46-year-old stresses on the importance of utilising social media responsibly. He continues, “If someone posts unverified, false information, it’s easy for panic to spread. I always therefore verify news myself first. Airport pe baatein shuru ho gayin thi war ke baare mein, I still didn’t believe it. Zaroori nahi jo news dikhe voh authentic ho. I always remain calm in stressful situations. The moment I landed, my entire family was happy. I thought I will enter my house quietly, but everyone was awake and hugged me. Kisi ko idea nahi hota hai ki kab kitna escalate ho jaaye situation. Apne country mein badi badi ghatnaaeyein ho gayin recently. Par obvious hai, jo pyaar karte hain, unke fikar hoti hi hai.”
