Australian Paralympians stranded in Dubai by torrential rain

Heavy rain flooding the United Arab Emirates has caused major flight disruptions at Dubai International Airport, leaving many Australians stranded at terminals for hours.

Australian swimmers Taylor Corry and Isabella Vincent were travelling to the Para Swimming European Open Championships in Madeira, Portugal, but had to sleep overnight at the airport after flight delays.

Men walk through floodwater in Dubai this week.

The athletes posted a photo of themselves and team members slumped over suitcases and chairs, lying on the marble floor with black hoodies shielding their eyes.

“Sleeping overnight in the airport is the best thing to do,” Corry posted to Instagram.

Parts of the United Arab Emirates received 2½ times the average annual rainfall in 24 hours, causing flight chaos at Dubai airport, one of the world’s busiest transport hubs.

The state-run WAM news agency described this week’s rain as “a historic weather event” that surpassed “anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949”.

Paris 2024 Paralympic campaign head coach Greg Towle said the previous 24 hours had been “the worst travel experience of his life”.

Towle and the team of 20 swimmers flew out of Brisbane with Emirates but were unable to land in Dubai and were redirected to a local airfield. The team spent about nine hours on the tarmac before flying back to Dubai, he said, and the next “13 hours waiting in line” to secure tickets on reallocated flights.

Towle said communicating with Emirates had been difficult but acknowledged staff were all “trying to do their best”.

“At the end of the day, everyone is in the same boat and airline staff have obviously been overwhelmed by the numbers,” he said. “It’s challenging, but we will get through it.”

Despite the delays, Towle said he was immensely proud of his team and their resilience.

“They’ve all put their recovery first and have been trying to get their rest and stay hydrated, while also staying positive. I’m really happy with their attitudes given the circumstances and, yeah … quite proud honestly.”

The team secured a 9am (Gulf Standard time) flight to Lisbon and members were hoping to get a connection to Madeira for the competition.

Towle said the event, which runs from April 21 to 27, was a chance for Australia to maximise its chances of sending a full team to Paris.

“We are excited to get there and … just keen for this travel to be over,” he said.

Australian radio presenter Kris Fade, who lives in Dubai, shared footage on Wednesday of his car trapped in floodwater. He warned his social media followers to take care.

Dubai International Airport advised travellers to check their flight status and instructed them to go to the airport only if they had confirmed departure times.

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