Dubai: Dubai-based senior business management professional and noted Odia scuba diver, Priyadarshee Panigrahi and his wife Soumitri Nanda had a narrow escape as they returned to Dubai just hours before airspace closures disrupted flights across the UAE on 28th February 2026.

Priyadarshee, son of former minister Sriballav Panigrahi, had travelled to Sambalpur with his wife Mrs. Soumitri, who is a regulatory affaris professional, to attend the twelfth-day ceremony of Dr. Raseswari Panigrahi, of whom he is a nephew. Dr. Raseswari Panigrahi was a very popular doctor, widely respected for her service to the community, and was also the former MLA of Sambalpur.

The couple had left behind their two daughters, aged 15 and 9, along with Priyadarshee’s 88-year-old father-in-law, under the care of their nanny in Dubai. They shudder to think how the children and the elderly family member would have managed had they been stranded in India due to the sudden flight suspensions.

After attending to well-wishers and other mourners during the 12th day ceremony in Sambalpur, in the afternoon, the couple returned to the UAE via Abu Dhabi on the morning of the 27th. 

They had an arduous journey wherein they travelled by car to Jharsuguda, took a flight to Kolkata and then another flight early in the morning to Abu Dhabi. Soon after their arrival, escalating regional tensions led to missile attacks and retaliatory strikes, forcing authorities to suspend flight operations at major UAE airports.

With widespread cancellations and diversions affecting thousands of passengers, Priyadarshee and Soma counted themselves fortunate to have made it back home safely just in time. Their timely return helped them avoid being stranded abroad during the sudden travel disruptions.