Chaos in Dubai: Flights across airlines hit

Chaos in Dubai: Flights across airlines hit

Flights to and from Dubai, the biggest aviation hub for Indian globetrotters outside the country, are badly impacted since late Monday with the UAE receiving its heaviest rainfall in the last 75 years. India has about 75 flights per day to Dubai that are operated by Indian and UAE carriers, say travel industry sources. According to the travel industry, 30-40 India flights were affected over Monday and Tuesday.

Apart from point-to-point travellers, Dubai also sees a lot of transfer traffic between India and rest of the world on Emirates flights. The biggest player on the Dubai-India route, Emirates suspended check-ins for passengers departing Dubai from 8 am to midnight on April 17 “due to operational challenges caused by bad weather and road conditions”. Emirates has 167 weekly flights between India and Dubai.

Its low-cost arm, Flydubai, which has 30 weekly India flights, had suspended all flights till early Wednesday night; some of them were to start operating after 8 pm Dubai time.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Due to the impact of adverse weather in Dubai, we have had to cancel our flights to and from Dubai on April 16 and 17. We are doing our best to get affected passengers on their way as soon as possible by re-accommodating them on flights in the next few days. We are also offering a one-time date change waiver to passengers with valid tickets on 16 and 17 April, allowing them to reschedule their flights… to future dates within the validity of the tickets.”

An IndiGo spokesperson said the airline has had “13 cancellations from Dubai International Airport as of now. We are yet to take a call on the last two departures of the day”. The airline has “offered full refund and free move to passengers.”

Airlines say other airports in the UAE that have direct flights to and from India – like Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah – have not been battered as severely by torrential rain. But flights at these places, which saw significant diversions from Dubai-bound flights late Monday and early Tuesday, are getting delayed too. A spokesperson for Abu Dhabi-based Etihad said its “flights are operating as usual … although some might still experience minor delays. Guests are still required to check etihad.com to check status of flight.”

Air India Express said: “Three-four of our flights on April 16 and 17 were among those delayed. We regret the inconvenience and have offered the option of a full refund or free rescheduling to all impacted guests.” Comments from other airlines were awaited till the time of going to press.

For more news like this visit TOI. Get all the Latest News, City News, India News, Business News, and Sports News. For Entertainment News, TV News, and Lifestyle Tips visit Etimes