How a Dubai Airport officer's kindness wins praise from UAE ruler
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It was a simple gesture, unplanned, unannounced, and deeply human. But it left a family in tears, inspired many, and moved Dubai's ruler to speak.
“In what country do people still act like this?” asked a Jordanian expatriate woman in a heartfelt radio interview, her voice quivering with emotion as she recalled an unexpected moment of kindness at Dubai International Airport. The question, born of awe and gratitude, would soon echo far beyond the terminal gates.
The quiet moment between an Emirati airport officer and a departing elderly woman at Dubai International Airport has captured the attention of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
“This is the Dubai we want,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote on social media, sharing a video that quickly went viral. “A salute to those who bring a smile… or bring joy to the heart of a traveller or a visitor.”
The moment unfolded at Terminal 2, where a Jordanian expatriate family had come to see off the family’s elderly matriarch — the mother of the husband — after a brief stay in the country.
As is customary, they arranged for a wheelchair to ease her journey through the airport. The goodbyes were bittersweet, filled with the quiet pain of temporary separation and the gratitude of time shared.
What none of them expected was the warmth and humanity they would encounter beyond the immigration gate.
As the elderly woman was wheeled away, an Emirati employee at the passport control desk, identified as Abdullah Al Baloushi, paused what he was doing. He stopped her, called out to her son, and invited him closer.
Confused, the son approached, unsure of what had happened.
“Is she leaving too early?” Al Baloushi asked gently. “Did we upset her somehow? Did we do anything to make her feel unwelcome?”
The son replied that she had doctor appointments back home and had already stayed nearly a month. But Al Baloushi wasn't done.
“Let me bring her back for a moment,” he said. “I saw you saying goodbye from a distance. That’s not enough. She deserves a proper farewell. Ask her for a prayer — and tell her we’re waiting for her to return soon. And if we fell short in any way, tell her we’re sorry.”
The story was later shared by the woman’s daughter-in-law in a heartfelt interview with Radio Al Arabiya, where she emotionally recounted the encounter.
“In what country in the world,” she asked, “do you still find people who act like this?”
Her voice cracked as she recalled the kindness, a rare gesture that turned an ordinary airport farewell into a moment of collective pride and humanity.–Gulf News