A KLM flight carrying Dutch nationals stranded in the Middle East arrived at Schiphol airport from Oman on Wednesday morning.

The plane was carrying 91 Dutch people — a mixture of tourists and people who live in the region and wanted to return to the Netherlands, a spokeswoman told broadcaster NOS. A further 160 people on the flight worked for KLM or other airlines.

Several thousand other Dutch nationals who were in the region temporarily are thought to be stuck, and more repatriation flights are being planned.

“We now know what war is,” Gerard en Marianne, who had been stuck in Dubai on their way home from a holiday in Bali told the Telegraaf.

Their plane was taxing for take-off to Amsterdam when it turned round. “Airspace was shut and we had to stay in Dubai,” Gerard, who works for an airline, said. They travelled in a rented bus to Oman for the flight.

Transavia worker Damiano who was in Dubai for a short holiday with his sister said the sky lit up with projectiles. “When we went to sleep, I heard all sorts of things moving through the air, even though I knew the airport was closed. It was really worrying.”