PV Sindhu opens on horrific experience at Dubai Airport amid US-Iran War

Indian badminton star PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, found herself stranded in Dubai in late February 2026 amid escalating military conflict in the Middle East, primarily involving US-Israel strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliatory actions.

Sindhu was en route from Bengaluru to Birmingham, UK, for the All England Open Championships (starting March 3, 2026) via a connecting flight in Dubai. She landed on February 28, but sudden airspace closures across the Gulf region-triggered by missile exchanges and attacks-halted all flight operations at Dubai International Airport, one of the world's busiest hubs.

Sindhu and her team, including Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama, were initially stuck at the airport for 10-12 hours before being relocated to transit hotels. She described the experience as "tense and scary," recounting hearing loud interception sounds (likely air defenses), explosions nearby, and receiving emergency alerts to stay away from windows.

One report mentioned an explosion close to their location, heightening fears as the situation evolved hourly with ongoing regional strikes.

The Indian shuttler shared updates on social media, assuring fans she was safe while expressing gratitude for support from Emirates airlines, airport staff, and the Indian Embassy, which assisted stranded Indians. The disruptions forced her to withdraw from the tournament, where she was seeded to face Thailand's Supanida Katethong in the first round.

After several anxious days, flights resumed partially, and Sindhu safely returned to Bengaluru on March 3, 2026.

She posted: "Back home in Bangalore and safe. The last few days have been intense and uncertain, but I'm truly grateful to be back."

She also revealed her time in Dubai in a virtual press conference, where she opened up on those hours spent at the airport.

"Initially I was supposed to go to All England, but unfortunately when I landed on the 28th at 1 pm, by 1:15 all flights were suspended. We didn't know what it was, how it was, or what the situation was going to be. They first told us to wait, then said the flight was delayed, and then that the airspace was closed. It was very stressful at that point when we were at the airport. Just a few hours before I landed, my colleagues - the doubles and some of the singles players - had already taken off from Dubai to Birmingham and reached around 11:45. I kept thinking, if I had gone a little earlier, I would have reached too. But at that point we didn't know anything. Dubai is one of the safest places and we all love Dubai, so it was very unfortunate that this happened," Sindhu said in a press conference.

"When they first said all flights were suspended, we were just sitting at the airport and we didn't know what was going on. The airport staff kept saying, 'We'll let you know,' and kept us waiting for a couple of hours. Finally they said, 'Now the airspace is closed, we don't know when it will open, so for now we'll take you to the transit hotel.' The whole process took a lot of time because there were so many people and flights from different countries had been cancelled. It was chaos. We finally got our vouchers and went out, but even then the trains weren't working, immigration was shut, and they weren't allowing people to go outside the airport. After a few hours the trains opened and we finally got out and were going to the hotel," the Indian shuttler added.