PUBLISHED ONMarch 07, 2026 11:37 AMBYSean Ler"Seeing your national carrier at an airport it does not serve is so cool."
This was what Ms Francesca Danielle wrote on her Instagram just before boarding SQ8001, a government-assisted repatriation flight from Muscat in Oman to Singapore on Saturday (March 7) afternoon.
The 41-year-old, a mother of two young daughters, is among Singaporeans who become stranded in the Middle East as tensions rose following strikes on Iran launched by Israel and the United States on Feb 28.
She was on a work trip in Dubai with five other colleagues and were initially scheduled to return home on March 3, but found their Emirates flight cancelled after the strikes.
In a video story posted on Instagram before boarding the flight, Francesca recounted how she and fellow Singaporeans received assistance from officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
"It's been crazy — the amount of assistance we got here. All the officials who have been here for pre-departure briefing, getting the (boarding) passes, getting us through immigration — they pre-printed our tickets, our luggage tags — everything was very seamless.
"There's a lot of us. But never once would you feel frustrated, lost, or not knowing what's going on. I think so much effort has been put in to get happy faces back home between today and tomorrow," she said.
Speaking to AsiaOne via Instagram direct message during her flight, Francesca said Singaporeans and their dependents departed Dubai in four buses.
She recalled seeing families with very young children and even the elderly when they departed Dubai for Muscat.
"Everyone was split nicely into four buses in Dubai such that we were comfortable enough" she said, adding that the buses always moved together, with MFA consular officers accompanying them throughout.
Recounting the moment when they contacted MFA, Francesca said she was impressed.
She recalled asking for clarifications on the date of departure after receiving MFA's WhatsApp response, followed by messages to confirm that their ticketing arrangements were sorted out.
"After hanging up, I remember telling my colleagues this: 'You need to really like this job if people are going to ask you the same questions over and over again.' And yet they still had the enthusiasm over the phone!"
According to Francesca, everything went on in an orderly manner at Muscat International Airport, with four dedicated counters set up for SQ8001, despite the national carrier not having an operating presence there.
"The luggage were all pre-tagged while we were in the queue and the local Customs officers were ready. We were escorted right to the gate and sent off," she said.
Francesca added: "Overall, super amazing coordination. Any shortcoming isn't even worth discussing."
She also had kind words to say to the MFA consular officer who assisted her throughout the past few days: "Estelle, wherever you are, I hope one day I get to thank you."
Priced at $600 per person, some netizens have asked why a no-frills flight would cost that amount, but Francesca was circumspect: "This is not an evacuation, but an assisted return. $600 would not get you this kind of service (assistance) anyway."
When asked how the situation onboard SQ8001 was like, she said that every passenger was in the "best tired version of themselves" but that things were calm.
She added that Singapore Airlines cabin crew served them lunch and "went around a few times" to serve passengers drinks. "Singapore Airlines at its best."
Despite having lived through an uncertain few days, Francesca remained upbeat. She told AsiaOne that seeing the Singapore Airlines plane taxiing on the tarmac at Muscat International Airport was "the cherry on top".
At the end of the interview, with about two hours of flight time left, AsiaOne asked Francesca what she looked forward to most after landing in Singapore.
"I am going to go home and give my kids a big hug and load them up with kisses," she said.
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