Several flights bound for Dubai’s main airport have been diverted after thunderstorms brought torrential rain to the United Arab Emirates on 16 April.
Operator Dubai Airports states that the “exceptional weather event” has forced the temporary diversion of inbound evening services, although departures have been able to continue.
“The airport is working hard with its response teams and service partners to restore normal operations and minimise inconvenience to our customers,” it adds.
NOTAMs for Dubai over a 36h period from 15-17 April state that the airport is “not available for diversion flights” owing to the weather forecast.
The airport’s weather service has issued several special meteorological updates indicating thunderstorm activity, heavy rain, reduced visibility and high winds.
It warns of wind speeds of 35kt with gusts up to 55kt, and the presence of windshear on all runways.
Images circulating on social media, purporting to show the weather situation, show aircraft manoeuvring through significant quantities of water on airport surfaces.
Flydubai has cancelled all its departures for the evening of 16 April, and does not expect to resume until 17 April.
“Our customer service teams are working extremely hard to mininise the disruption to our passengers,” says the carrier. “The safety of our passengers and crew is always our priority.”
Emirates states that “multiple” flights to and from Dubai are experiencing delays or disruption. ”We are working hard to get all affected passengers to their final destination safely,” it adds.
