Joe Thompson's fear of flying hasprevented him from returning home to the UK, but his mother Pauline (L) flew to the UAE to spend New Year's Day with him and his father, Anthony (R).
Joe Thompson's fear of flying hasprevented him from returning home to the UK, but his mother Pauline (L) flew to the UAE to spend New Year's Day with him and his father, Anthony (R).
Joe Thompson's fear of flying hasprevented him from returning home to the UK, but his mother Pauline (L) flew to the UAE to spend New Year's Day with him and his father, Anthony (R).
Joe Thompson's fear of flying hasprevented him from returning home to the UK, but his mother Pauline (L) flew to the UAE to spend New Year's Day with him and his father, Anthony (R).

UAE

UAE fear-of-flying Joe gets New Year's treat

Joe Thompson's mother has flown in from the UK to spend the New Year with him since anxiety attacks have prevented him from taking a flight home.

Colin Simpson

December 31, 2012

  • English
  • Arabic

AL AIN // Six months ago today the Thompson family was due to leave the UAE after four years to start a new life back home in the UK.

But 12-year-old son Joe had an acute anxiety attack at the airport that prevented him from boarding the plane, with repeated attempts over the coming weeks.

He was forced to remain in Al Ain with his dad Tony, while mum Pauline returned to the family home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, to be with Joe’s sister Chloé, 17, as she started the new school year and prepared to take important A-level exams.

Joe has since been diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder that prevented him from flying and left him unable to embark on an overland journey home, or even attend school.

He is seeing a psychiatrist and a counsellor and is taking medication, and in the past two weeks there has been a breakthrough in his treatment.

He received a further boost on Thursday when his mum flew to the UAE for a three-week visit after spending Christmas in the UK with Chloé.

“The fact that we’re split is not good, it’s a difficult situation to cope with,” said Pauline, 49. “But it’s something we’ve got to go through. We’ve got to get Joe right, and if that takes time, it takes time.

“Chloe’s OK, she misses Joe and Tony but she understands. It’s not ideal, it’s not perfect, but hopefully it won’t be forever.”

Tony, 64, added: “Joe is having cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, which is particularly useful for anxiety conditions because it basically reprogrammes how you behave.

“To have maximum impact you need to combine it with medication that will deal with the chemical reactions in the brain.

“The purpose is to bring the anxiety levels down, or disperse them altogether, and then the CBT is about changing your behaviour and how you deal with whatever the problem is.

“At a session two weeks ago the therapist identified that these anxieties, which on the face of it appear to be related to travel, are actually about going back to the UK.

“The problem is not the actual getting there, but what the future holds for him back in the UK.”

The difficulties appear to date back to an earlier plan to return home to Britain in 2011.

“When Joe went to a new school in the UK he had a couple of bad experiences. He was only there for a few days,” Tony said.

Pauline added: “He didn’t like it, he had a bit of trouble, there was a bit of bullying. It wasn’t anything major but it’s obviously stuck in his head. The therapist is helping us to unravel it all.”

This new understanding of Joe’s condition should assist his recovery. In the meantime he is being taught at home as he cannot face returning to his old school in Al Ain.

Joe said there was an upside to his predicament, as he had previously seen little of his father. Tony, a safety expert, had frequently spent long hours at work.

“It’s one of the longest times I’ve ever had to be with my dad,” said Joe. “It’s been nice having him around for a change.”

School uniforms report
Read more
War on waste
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

More from this package
While you're here
Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

TechnologyAl Ain