LAKELAND, Fla. — What was supposed to be a romantic anniversary trip to Dubai turned into a frightening escape for a Lakeland couple. Their son helped to coordinate their safe return home.
“They love to travel. They try to do a few trips a year to cool international destinations, and this was the first time going to the Middle East,” said Nick Poucher.
WATCH: Lakeland couple's anniversary trip turns into escape from Dubai amid Iran war
Poucher’s mom and stepdad Mike and Krista Hickman were getting ready to leave Dubai International Airport on Feb. 28, when everything suddenly changed.
“As they taxied out, the captain came back on again and told them that actually they just closed out all the airspace, and they were not going to be able to take off,” Poucher said.
The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran started that morning. Retaliatory strikes in the region left the couple and thousands of travelers stranded inside the airport as airlines shut down flights.
Poucher said just hours after his parents left the airport, a drone strike hit the terminal.
“You can hear the fear in their voice and the concern of the situation and while I’m on FaceTime [with them] I can hear explosions going off. It’s very, very close. There was one explosion that hit so close that my mom said it was literally like shaking the window,” said Poucher.
After days of uncertainty, Poucher and his family back in Lakeland worked nonstop to find his parents a way out. Eventually, they arranged for a driver to take the couple across the desert to Oman — a 5-and-a-half-hour journey.
“It really felt like there was no help. So, we just started looking around for our own options and found that Oman was the only country in the area that their airspace was still open. They were able to find a driver to take them,” Poucher said.
From Oman, the couple was able to fly to India to catch a flight home. Now that they’re out of the conflict zone, Poucher said his family can finally breathe a little easier.
“It was very uneasy to know that a war was continuing to ramp up, and they really had no plan on how to get out. Once they got to India, I felt a lot better,” Poucher said.
The couple will soon return home to Lakeland, ending an anniversary trip they will never forget.
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