Aircraft were taking off just minutes before a drone struck a fuel tank at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, while around a dozen flights had departed in the preceding 30 minutes, News.Az reports, citing The Wall Street Journal.
The report highlights the risks faced by commercial aviation operating near conflict zones, as hundreds of airlines continue to resume flights to the Middle East despite ongoing hostilities.
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The current conflict brings fears of a tragedy like the one that happened in 2020, where the Iranian regime accidentally shot down a passenger jet and killed the 176 people inside.
“This is war. Why are they flying in the path of missiles?” Kourosh Doustshenas, whose partner was among the victims, told The Journal.
According to the report, pilots, security specialists, and industry executives are also raising similar fears about a possible accident, saying that the risk of a plane being hit by a missile, a drone, or even an air-defense system by mistake is high.
