Shortly before 5 a.m. on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' chartered plane carrying stranded Swedes landed. The plane took off from Dubai on Saturday afternoon. On board were 176 passengers, some of whom were Finnish citizens. There were 180 seats, but late cancellations meant the plane could not be completely filled.
On the plane were Roy Norkyn from Luleå and his family with four children, the youngest only nine months old.
"It feels great to be home. It was a little nerve-wracking when the plane took off, but there was a sense of relief. Everyone was happy to get out of there," says Roy Norkyn.
Warnings on mobile phones
"The first time we got a missile warning on our phones was at midnight. My daughter was in the shower and we had to quickly gather all the children and rush down to the lobby, but everyone there was just as confused as we were," says Roy Norkyn.
"No one we talked to knew anything about shelters, so we just had to stay inside and take cover."
The family lived some distance from the affected areas, but they could hear muffled bangs. From their room on the 61st floor, they could see the damage from the impact.
"When we saw the first missiles coming, we were on the beach and everyone was looking up at the sky when columns of smoke and muffled bangs were heard. Everyone was talking to each other about what had happened and what we should do now," says Roy Norkyn.
"We knew that there was a tense situation between the US and Iran, but we didn't think it could go this far and that it would affect Dubai."
Tried to rebook
The family managed to stay in Dubai for a week. The return trip was scheduled for next Friday.
"I tried to call and rebook the flight, but there was no chance of getting through. We put ourselves on the Foreign Ministry's list on March 5 and, since we have four children, we were offered places, so we took the chance," says Roy Norkyn.
The situation felt increasingly uncertain.
"We thought about what could happen if we were on the 61st floor and the power went out because of missiles, so it was a nervous few days and the kids were very scared every time the alarm went off."
Now the final leg home awaits, towards the safety of Luleå.
