SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A San Diego man is sheltering in place inside his hotel room in Dubai after his flight landed just two hours before the war began.
Chad Cummins and his girlfriend had been traveling the world for months when they decided on a 2-day stopover in Dubai to break up a long flight from Asia to Europe. They landed Saturday morning, and by the time they reached their hotel in downtown Dubai, the war had begun.
"Unfortunately, we got in just in time to get stuck," Cummins said.
Early the following morning, he received an emergency alert on his phone warning of possible incoming missiles.
"We started to get quite nervous at that point," Cummins said.
Cummins believes a photo taken from their 44th-floor room shows smoke from one of two hotel fires from Iranian attacks.
"Yes, they were attacking hotels, and the only conclusion you could come to is that they were trying kill Western civilians," Cummins said.
While the grounds of the U.S. Consulate in Dubai caught fire from a suspected drone attack, Cummins said he hasn't heard of any other attacks impacting a hotel.
Cummins has not left the hotel.
"I feel safer at the hotel, I think, than being out or looking for some other type of accommodation," Cummins said.
He has spent much of his time looking for flights and calling the airlines. The main airport is open but with limited flights.
"I bought 3 different tickets on 3 consecutive days, but they kept getting canceled," Cummins said.
When he calls the airlines, he said the calls don't connect.
"It drops the call. Doesn't even ring," Cummins said.
Cummins also registered online with the State Department.
"I did that, and they reached out to me today, and I actually could have gotten on a plane tonight, but I'm here with my girlfriend, who's Colombian," Cummins said. "They can't help people who aren't U.S. citizens, and of course, I couldn't just abandon her here."
The plan now is to stay put and wait.
"It's extremely nerve-wracking as you can imagine," Cummins said. "If there's not a lot of attacks coming and they feel safe, where we can open up the airport a little more, I bet we'll be able to go… If not, we may be here a lot, lot longer."
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