Dubai's businessmen itching to get back

Being stranded in a foreign country away from one's loved ones for an indefinite period of time due to unforeseen circumstances is bad enough, but it becomes worse if you have a 10-month-old baby waiting for you to return home, if you have to spend your birthday alone or have to miss a wedding anniversary.

Emirates Business spoke to some residents of Dubai stranded in different parts of the world due to the volcanic ash cloud that shows no sign of abating to find out how they are dealing with this forced separation from home and family.

Prabissh Thomas, Managing Director, PTL Solar, who is stuck in Frankfurt, said: "I came here on April 11 for the Light and Building Exhibition and was due to return home on the 15th. However, my flight got cancelled and I am stuck here for the past three days.

"I want to go back to Dubai before the 21st as it is my eighth wedding anniversary and I don't want to miss that. Also I have three small children aged between three and one and I miss them. I talk to them on the phone everyday and also see them via webcam, but that is not enough. I really miss them and my wife."

Thomas, who is now re-booked on an Emirates flight for today, hopes to return to Dubai so that he can be with his family and is keeping his fingers crossed that flights will be allowed to leave Frankfurt. "I am feeling quite frustrated with this whole thing as the flights keep on getting cancelled and I am stuck here and my business is suffering. If I don't get on today's flight it will be tough for me, as meetings will get rescheduled. Also, who knows if I will get a booking for another day after that as nearly 1,000 people from the UAE are stuck here," he said.

However, no one is as desperate to get back home as the young Indian mother of a 10-month-old boy. She had gone to the United Kingdom for a meeting and was supposed to return home to her children on Saturday.

Elizabeth Sen, Director, JiWin, said: "I came to London with my managing director for a meeting. It was supposed to be a 48-hour visit. We arrived in London on Thursday and were supposed to be in Dubai on Saturday. I had just packed for one-and-a-half days as I was supposed to go back home right after the meeting as my youngest child is just 10 months old. However, now I can't do that.

"Also, this is not the right time to be away from the UAE as there is so much going on there in terms of events. There is Cityscape and other events for which we need to be in the country," she added.

Mamoon Sbeih, Managing Director, JiWin, added: "However, we are much luckier than a lot of people stranded here as we have a roof over our heads and our business associates in London gave us a place in their office to work from. There are so many people stranded here with no place to stay.

"But yes I would like to get back home soon as I am missing my three-month-old baby. In fact, I wanted to go back home today as it is my birthday. I had planned to celebrate it with my wife and my mother who is visiting us from Ramallah. Now we will just have to celebrate it once we get back home. Also I am losing out on the time I could have spent with my mother as she is also due to go back home soon."

Most of the people say that now they will have a second look at travel and are more likely to restrict it and will only travel when it is impossible to avoid.

Aron Bentley, Account Director, The Event Company, said: "Even though I have been lucky enough to have my parents in the UK, so I don't have to undergo the trauma of being stranded in a foreign country all alone, I think we should look at video-conferencing more as it not only saves a lot of time and money it also spares you the unnecessary hassle associated with travel.

"After having been stranded in Yorkshire for the past seven days, I for one don't want to travel so much anymore. My fiancée is waiting for me back in Dubai and I just hope I can reach the UAE soon so that I can be with her."

However, not all people have been put off by travel and say that they cannot give it up as it is necessary for their business.

Sbeih said: "I can't give up travelling for work as in our business meeting people and networking is very important. However, video-conferencing is a good way of cutting travel costs for companies and I wish we would use it more in the country."

Frustration for passengers stranded in the UAE

Emile Mathee's vacation to Thailand turned into a nightmare the day his flight back to Britain through Dubai was cancelled due to the volcanic ash cloud drifting over Europe from Iceland.

Now stranded in the UAE?with more than 8,000 other transit passengers awaiting the easing of no-fly zones in Europe, the 47-year-old Briton fears the delay could cost him his job.

"I'm supposed to start a new job" on Monday, Mathee said. "Because I work as a self-employed contractor – I'm a social worker – it's not certain whether they're gonna keep that job open for me."

"It's been a complete nightmare," said Mathee, who has been in Dubai since his Emirates airline flight was cancelled on Friday. "It's freaked me out, because it's very unclear when we're actually gonna get home."

He and others in the same situation are only too aware that even if flight restrictions are lifted, airlines need to deal with a massive backlog of passengers needing to reach their destinations.

In addition to worries over his job, Mathee said his son, who is travelling with him, is supposed to return to school in France on Tuesday. But it appears "that's not gonna happen."

Mathee had budgeted money for a vacation he planned to end on Friday, but unexpected expenses for accommodations and meals during his involuntary stay in Dubai have caused financial strain.

He was able to stay with a friend the first night in Dubai but paid for a hotel for the next two. "We have to save our money just to see if we can get back," Mathee said, adding that, "I'm having to phone friends to send money."

He is considering trying to book a flight to Rome if its airport is open, then travelling overland from there.

Devrim Tonc, 30, and her brother were flying Emirates from a vacation in Sri Lanka through Dubai and were supposed to connect to Germany on Friday, but the second leg of their trip was cancelled. "Now, we don't know how long we're going to be stuck here. We should be working" on Monday, Tonc said. She and her brother returned to Dubai's airport on Saturday to retrieve their luggage. "We haven't been to the airport (since), because it's just too nerve-wracking," she said. "I go there and I just lose my temper because you're just fed up."

Michael Hughes, 45, and his wife were supposed to fly home on Emirates to Scotland from a business trip to Australia. "We were in Australia for one week and we were only supposed to be in Dubai for two hours... it was just a transfer," he said. "But now we've been here a couple of days, and it looks as though we might be here for at least a week.

"The worst thing is not knowing," Hughes said. "If we knew a date when we're flying home, we'd be fine. But we're stuck here, we don't know."

Hughes said he has been paying for his hotel room himself. (AFP)

Technology to the rescue

Phone calls, e-mails, conference calls, e-messenger services. Technology has come to the rescue of people who are unable to return to the UAE to attend to their businesses and offices.

Aron Bentley told Emirates Business: "There is so much going on in Dubai right now in terms of events its quite unfortunate that I am stuck here at a time like this. However, I am doing as much as I can to keep things going and fulfil my part of the commitment. As I am in Yorkshire, UK, I get up early to keep pace with my colleagues in Dubai so that work does not suffer. We keep in touch via phones, e-mail, MSN messenger etc.

"We are all pulling together as a team and my office has been quite understanding till now, but I can sense some frustration creeping in because this just slows things down."

Mamoon Sbeih said: "Even though I am stuck in the UK, I am doing whatever it takes to keep my business running. I am calling the office and, of course, using the internet to remain on top of things. However, nothing can replace being there in person.

"We are a public relations company and in our business meeting face-to-face is very important. But luckily our clients have been very understanding so hopefully business will not suffer too much."

However, there are some who are not letting adverse circumstances bog them down and are making good use of the time to network and further their business interests.

Prabissh Thomas said: "I am using the internet and phone to keep in touch with the office so that things keep running smoothly. Also, as I came to Frankfurt for a trade exhibition and quite a few of the people from the industry are stuck here as well, I am making good use of this time and networking with them.

"This is a good opportunity to get to know people from the business on a personal basis. It forms stronger ties and that's good for business. However, the fact remains that work back home is suffering and payments are not being made. In fact, I was due for the launch of some green warehouses in the Cargo Village for which our company is working with Dnata and Dubai Economic Department, but I will most likely miss that.

"Also, there were some business meetings that I was supposed to have with buyers, but I am missing those as well. This will lead to delays in contracts and deals, which is bad at a time when the world is just recovering from an economic crisis. This has happened at a bad time and I wish it would be over soon."

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