A mother who was stranded in Egypt while her infant daughter remained in Dubai has spoken about the overwhelming relief and emotion she felt after finally being reunited with her child.
Robyn Baker, originally from Jersey, had moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2022. She had travelled to Egypt for what was meant to be a brief three-day work trip when tensions and conflict in the Middle East suddenly escalated, leading to the closure of airspace around Dubai.
With flights cancelled and rescheduled repeatedly, Baker found herself stuck in Egypt with no clear indication of when she would be able to return home to her baby.
She described the emotional distress of being separated from her child during such an uncertain and tense time.
'The hardest part is that when I travel, I usually sleep with the baby monitor on,' she said. 'I expect to wake up to the sound of my daughter crying or needing her nappy changed. Instead, I was waking up to the sound of missiles and knowing I wasn't there with her.'
Baker spent several anxious days waiting for flights to resume. Even after securing a seat on a flight back to Dubai, the uncertainty remained.
She recalled that the moment the plane finally took off was when the possibility of returning home began to feel real.
'It was only when we were in the air that it started to sink in that I might actually get home,' she said. 'Even then, I wasn't fully convinced.'
The flight itself was filled with anxiety. Baker deliberately chose an aisle seat so she would not have to look out of the window during the journey.
'I was shaking the entire time,' she said. 'I didn't want to see where we were flying or what countries we were passing over. That unknown was very scary, but the thought of getting closer to my daughter kept me going.'
Baker finally arrived in Dubai on Wednesday afternoon. The moment she saw her daughter again was deeply emotional.
'The feeling of knocking on the door and seeing her walk up to me didn't feel real,' she said. 'I just held her so tight. The moment she was in my arms, I felt complete again.'
She added that the experience is one that will remain with her forever.
Despite the tensions in the region, Baker said life in Dubai currently feels calm and she feels safe for now.
While acknowledging that the future remains uncertain, she said she plans to continue living in Dubai unless the situation worsens.