An Emirates flight from Mumbai to Dubai made an unusual mid-air manoeuvre on Tuesday morning amid missile alerts in the United Arab Emirates. The incident comes at a time when tensions are rising in the West Asia region.

According to flight tracking data on Flightradar24, Emirates EK501 was held back from UAE airspace after the UAE defense ministry said its air defenses were intercepting ballistic missiles fired from Iran. Authorities then restricted air movement in the region.

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Double reverse before landing

The live tracking of the plane revealed that the aircraft carried out a "rare double reverse" move before finally making a turn to head to Dubai. Initially, the plane was seen making a turn to head back to Mumbai as it approached UAE airspace. It later resumed its route to Dubai but was placed on hold once more due to the ongoing missile engagement.

The plane was then cleared to land safely in Dubai after the situation stabilised. This incident occurred in the midst of a heightened conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran. In recent days, air travel in the region of West Asia has been affected, with several flights being cancelled.

Regional airports resume limited operations

Following the weekend strike, air travel slowly resumed in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah airports after they reopened to evacuate stranded passengers. This was after the strike was halted due to disruptions caused by Iranian strikes.

Damage to Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport has been caused by debris from intercepted drones. One fatality has been reported in Abu Dhabi.

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The developments follow a joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran on Saturday, during which Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks targeting US bases and allied locations in Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq.

The conflict has since widened, with Iran-backed Hezbollah also joining hostilities in Lebanon, raising further concerns over regional stability and air travel safety.