'Generally safe': Dubai-bound flight departs Changi as scheduled on Mar. 5 amid Middle East tensions

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, a flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Dubai International Airport departed as scheduled on the morning of Mar. 5.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, passengers interviewed said they believed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was not a target in the conflict and remained generally safe.

One passenger, Zhuo (transliteration), told Zaobao she has lived in Dubai for 22 years and returned to Singapore two weeks ago to celebrate Chinese New Year.

She had initially booked a return flight for Mar. 1, but was notified the day before departure that it had been cancelled.

Zhuo said she believed the UAE remained safe, adding that the airline would not have operated the flight otherwise.

Another passenger, Zhang (transliteration), said he has worked in Dubai for 20 years.

He arrived in Singapore on Feb. 24 to visit friends and had originally purchased a ticket for Mar. 2.

While there had been occasional alarms in Dubai, Zhang said these were due to intercepted missiles.

He added that Dubai was not a primary target of the conflict and was generally safe.

A quick check on the flight tracking website FlightAware showed that the Emirates flight EK315 departed Singapore at about 10:30am and is scheduled to arrive in Dubai roughly seven hours later, before 2pm local time.

In contrast, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight scheduled to depart for Dubai later in the afternoon was cancelled.

In an advisory issued on Mar. 1, SIA said that due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, the following flights would be cancelled from Feb. 28 to Mar. 7, 2026:

• SQ494 departing Singapore for Dubai
• SQ495 departing Dubai for Singapore

Top photos from Canva and FlightAware