UAE weather: Dubai diverts inbound flights due to ‘exceptional’ rainfall
Heavy thunderstorms and rain showers in the UAE have caused flight cancelations and delays across the country, airlines reported on Tuesday, with Dubai International Airport diverting inbound flights as storms intensified.
Torrential rain and thunderstorms have battered parts of the country, flooding houses, submerging roads, and causing weather warnings across the Emirates.
The adverse weather has also caused flight cancellations and delays across the UAE.
In a statement provided to Al Arabiya English, a Dubai Airports spokesperson said: “Dubai Airports can confirm that due to the continued exceptional weather event currently being experienced in the UAE, Dubai International (DXB) is temporarily diverting inbound flights due to arrive this evening on Tuesday, 16 April until the inclement situation im-proves. Departures will continue to operate.”
“The airport is working hard with its response teams and service partners to restore normal operations and minimize inconvenience to our customers. We urge guests to check directly with the airline to obtain the latest information on the status of their flight, allow significant extra travel time to the airport and use the Dubai metro where possible.”
Earlier in the day it said that due to the “intense storm,” operations were temporarily suspended Tuesday afternoon. At the time, it said a total of 21 outbound and 24 inbound flights had been cancelled, and three flights were diverted to other neighbouring airports.
“There is major flooding on access roads around Dubai leading to the airport and current weather forecasts indicate that the unsettled weather will continue to cause delays and disruption into the early hours of Wednesday (17th April) morning.”
“Response teams have been activated and we are working closely with airlines and other service partners to restore normal operations at the earliest and minimise inconvenience to our customers. We are actively collaborating with our service partners and airlines to minimise any inconvenience experienced by our valued guests.”
In a statement, Dubai’s budget airline flydubai also reported weather-related delays, saying: “The adverse weather conditions in the UAE on 16 April impacted our flight schedule at Dubai International (DXB).”
“We have canceled some flights as a result and are currently experiencing some delays. We are working hard to minimize any disruption to our passengers’ travel schedules and are coordinating with all parties at the airport,” the airline said early Tuesday.
“We will continue to monitor the weather conditions closely and we advise our passengers to allow extra time for their journey to the airport and to check the status of their flight on flydubai.com.”
Residents across the country woke to black skies and heavy downpours, with the wet spell expected to last until Wednesday morning.
A ‘second wave’ of wet weather was reported across the UAE on Tuesday evening, the UAE’s NCM has reported.
