Dubai Airport resumes operations after floods

According to Emirates Airlines, there may still be delays, but operations at Dubai Airport are resuming after heavy rains and flooding.

Operations at Dubai Airport were disrupted for the third day in a row on Thursday due to heavy rain and floods. However, national carrier Emirates and its sister company Flydubai have slowly resumed treating passengers after urging passengers to stay away from the airport on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In the past two days, more than 1,200 flights were cancelled, and 41 flights were diverted. Flooding highways left thousands of passengers stranded at the emirate's airport, one of the busiest in the world. In the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, up to 260 mm of rain fell on Tuesday, more than usual in almost two years.

Emirates Airlines said in a statement: “There may still be delays in the arrival and departure of flights.” The airport is still crowded. “Our teams are working hard to restore scheduled operations as quickly as possible.” Nearly 200 departures were still listed as delayed or canceled on Dubai Airport's website on Thursday.

Runways flooded with water

Heavy rains had previously completely submerged highways and airport runways. On the desert emirate's six-lane highways, cars made their way through masses of water, leading to long traffic jams. The situation on the streets was still tense on Thursday. At least one main road remains completely blocked by water, and many others are no longer accessible.

An elderly couple's original 14-hour flight from Brisbane to Dubai has been extended to 24 hours after it was initially diverted. After arriving in Dubai, the Australians were unable to reach their hotel due to road flooding. “Our vacation has just begun, and I really want to go home,” 72-year-old Julie said. She added: “When the plane landed at the deserted airport, there was no lounge and no other planes, and I thought we had been kidnapped by terrorists.”

Heavy rain during storms in recent days has caused flooding across the UAE and parts of Qatar and Bahrain. In Amman, 19 people died as a result of storms on Sunday and Monday. (APA/AFP)