On Saturday, many flights coming to and leaving from Dubai International Airport (DXB) were redirected to a nearby airport, according to an official from DXB, as reported by Khaleej Times.
“Dubai Airports can confirm that normal operations at Dubai International (DXB) have been affected due to the adverse weather conditions since early hours on Saturday, March 9. Consequently, 13 inbound flights have been rerouted to nearby airports,” DXB said in a statement.
“We are actively collaborating with our service partners and airlines to minimise any inconvenience experienced by our valued guests,” the airport official added.
Emirates flights
An Emirates spokesperson also confirmed “some Emirates flights arriving at and departing from DXB have been delayed while others were diverted.”
The airline did not give specific numbers as the weather condition is fluid.
“We are monitoring the situation and will work to get our passengers to their destinations as soon as possible. Emirates apologises for any inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance and will not be compromised,” Emirates told Khaleej Times.
As per the DXB Flight Status website, the EK flight 903 heading to Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan got rescheduled from 2:05 PM to 4:00 PM. Additionally, the EK031 flight to London Heathrow Airport also experienced a delay.
The 2.40pm flight to O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg was moved to 3.15pm. EK 857 flight to Kuwait has been delayed for almost two hours while EK859S to Kuwait has been cancelled.
Flights to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Jinnah International and Indira Gandhi International are still waiting for updates.
Early morning flights were not affected and left as scheduled.
Flights by flydubai
“The adverse weather conditions in Dubai this morning have resulted in few cancellations and delays to some of our flights,” flydubai spokesperson confirmed.
“A number of inbound flights also had to be diverted. We are continuing to monitor the weather conditions in Dubai. The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority and we are doing all we can to minimise the disruption to our passengers’ travel schedules and are coordinating with all parties at the airport. We apologise for the inconvenience the adverse weather conditions may have caused our passengers,” the Dubai-based carrier added.
Etihad flights
Currently, Etihad Airways flights leaving from Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport are running as usual.
The Abu Dhabi airline suggested that travelers leaving the UAE should arrive at the airport early to prevent delays caused by predicted bad weather conditions this weekend.
Weather forecast
The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) predicts that rain, ranging in strength, will persist until Sunday, primarily affecting the northern and eastern regions of the country.
The unsettled weather will slowly calm down and only affect the eastern regions by Sunday evening and Sunday night. Monday is expected to be dry, although there’s a possibility of fog forming in the morning.
