As Iran’s missile and drone attacks on the UAE entered their third week, Dubai International Airport has been quietly offering departing visitors a small but meaningful gesture — a souvenir gift and a handwritten note of thanks from the emirate.
A Facebook post by Karishma Fernandez, shared from Dubai International Airport some 20 hours ago, showed the note and the gifts her parents received before boarding their flight home. The card, bearing the Dubai logo, read: “As you depart, please accept this small token of appreciation on behalf of Dubai. We’re truly appreciative of the way you have handled the unique situation over the past few days. Dubai always prioritises the safety and wellbeing of all citizens, residents and visitors, and we hope you saw this for yourself. We wish you a safe return and look forward to welcoming you back.”
The gifts — a Dubai license plate magnet and a Dubai keychain — were small in size but carried a larger message. Fernandez said her parents were happy to be heading home, where their doctors and medicines were, but noted that she and her family were choosing to stay. “Our happiness is here,” she wrote.
The post is a window into the human side of a city that has been under sustained aerial bombardment since February 28, when Iran launched retaliatory strikes following a joint US-Israeli attack on Iranian targets. Since then, UAE air defences have intercepted hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones, with debris occasionally falling in populated areas of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Despite the attacks, Dubai authorities have maintained a deliberate posture of normalcy. UAE presidential diplomatic adviser Dr. Anwar Gargash previously said, “Life goes on — even as we are at war,” crediting what he described as years of proactive investment by the country’s leadership in anticipating shifting regional threats.
The airport gesture appears to be part of that same approach. Rather than allow the conflict to define the Dubai experience, authorities chose to acknowledge the disruption directly — and thank those who weathered it.
The timing is also notable. The UAE is currently observing the Eid Al Fitr holiday, with March 20 declared the first day of Eid, giving residents a four-day break running through March 22. The juxtaposition of festive celebrations and active air defence operations has become something of a defining image of life in the UAE this month.
As of March 20, UAE air defences had dealt with a cumulative total of 338 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,740 drones since the start of what Emirati officials have called “blatant Iranian aggression.” Eight civilians have been killed — foreign nationals from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Palestine — and 158 people of various nationalities, including Filipinos, have been injured.
