Mumbai-Dubai Emirates flight makes ‘rare’ double reverse amid Iranian strikes

Amid the escalated tensions between Iran, Israel and the US, an Emirates flight was witnessed making a rare manoeuvre in UAE airspace as the war spread into West Asia. The flight's movement was noticed after it was alerted to a missile attack. The flight, EK501, was bound for Dubai and took off from Mumbai, India. It was held outside of UAE airspace on Tuesday (March 3).

As per the data by Flightradar24, the live tracker of the plane showed it took off from Mumbai and was seen making a double reverse, described as "rare", before it landed in Dubai. The flight was seen heading back to Mumbai after take off, but then resumed its route to Dubai.

This came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied the claims that there would be an endless war in West Asia. Speaking in an interview with Fox News on Monday (March 2), Netanyahu said, “This is not an endless war. This is in fact, something that will usher in an era of peace that we haven’t even dreamed of.”

A day earlier, Iran escalated its war in the Gulf region as multiple explosions were heard in the cities, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. This was after Tehran officials said that Iran "will not negotiate" with America following the killing of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Moreover, Akasa Air suspended all the flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Doha, Jeddah, Kuwait, and Riyadh for March 3.

Moreover, the US Embassy in Kuwait issued a warning to residents saying, "There is a continuing threat of missile and UAV attacks over Kuwait. Do not come to the Embassy. Take cover in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside," the embassy said in a statement. "US Embassy personnel are sheltering in place."