Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
05
Mar
Harrogate couple overjoyed after getting ‘golden ticket’ home from Dubai
Artist Anita Bowerman and her husband, Peter, have returned home to Harrogate after being stuck in Dubai since the weekend.
The couple were due to transfer flights in the city on Saturday after visiting their son in Australia.
But their flight was cancelled after explosions went off, and they were among thousands of Brits seeking to escape.
The couple got lucky when they were selected from a waiting list of 50 people to board an Emirates flight to Manchester at 2.30am this morning (March 5).
Anita said:
I can’t believe we are home. I’ve never been so pleased to be back in a colder country!
Peter and Anita Bowerman had visited their son in Australia before flying home via Dubai.
The couple, who live in Huby, went to the airport to take their chances after being told the next available flight was on March 15, or they could be taken to Oman to catch a UK government-chartered flight.
Peter spoke with an Emirates member of staff and was told they had been added to a waiting list for a flight in four hours.
With so many others hoping to get a seat they weren’t optimistic, but to their delight they were allowed to board.
Anita, who has a gallery in Harrogate, admits she has no idea why they were chosen:
It feels like we got a lucky golden ticket. The flight was completely full. It was like winning the lottery.
If we hadn’t got on, we were prepared to sit and wait at the airport. You have to be proactive. There are too many people trying to get through on the phone and they are not responding to emails. Emirates is a good airline, but the circumstances are impossible.
The couple made the most of their time in Dubai by visiting galleries and sightseeing but were particularly keen to get home so they could be reunited with their dog and because Anita was due to exhibit at Fusion Art Fair at the Great Yorkshire Events Centre in Harrogate this weekend. She is now preparing to be there.
More than 130,000 Brits have registered their interest with the UK government in being helped to leave the Middle East since war broke out between America and Israel and Iran last weekend.
0