Benny Chan & Wife’s Flight Out Of Dubai Reportedly Came Close To Missiles

Hong Kong actor Benny Chan and his wife Lisa Jiang were among travellers stuck in the Middle East due to the US-Israel and Iran conflict. In fact, the couple had close brushes with the conflict situation, not once, but twice.

An explosion near the U.S. Consulate General Dubai, which caused thick smoke billowing in the area and sent tourists at the scene in a panic, turned out to be just 1.2km away from the hotel that Benny and Lisa were staying at. 

The disruption came as regional airspace closures and flight cancellations spread across the Middle East following joint airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, which triggered retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.

Lisa revealed earlier in a video she shared this week (Mar 3) that the roar of fighter jets could be heard, and what appeared to be drones were seen flying low overhead. “A night that was supposed to be peaceful was ripped into a ginormous wound," she described.

Worried that it would be difficult to escape from a high floor in the hotel in an emergency, the couple temporarily moved down to the second floor for safety.

After the explosion, Benny and Lisa then hurriedly packed their bags at around 4am and rushed to the Dubai International Airport. They arrived safely back in Hong Kong the next morning.

Lisa also went on a live stream immediately after landing to reassure followers that they were safe, admitting that she did not dare to utter the word "safe" before the plane left the Middle Eastern airspace.

Although the flight itself seemed smooth, they later learned after landing that their aircraft had reportedly come close to a missile while in the air.

For safety reasons, the flight they took was the first and only service departing the Middle East for Hong Kong that day, with subsequent flights not expected to resume until at least March 7.

Lisa said they were "extremely lucky" to return home safely and emphasised that they had no special privileges — their four tickets were secured by repeatedly refreshing the booking page in the middle of the night.

Each ticket cost about 11,000 yuan (S$2,033).

She also sent her children her final wishes and told them her bank card passwords in case something happened while on the plane. Benny and Lisa have four kids — Elizabeth, 15, Cyrus, 13, Isabella, 12, and Victoria, 10.

The sudden and frightening experience left the couple shaken, with many online commenters saying it felt like they had “narrowly escaped death.”