Dubai Floods Hit Flight Operations, IndiGo And Air India Announce Cancellations Amid Adverse Weather

Flights from India to Dubai have been significantly disrupted after heavy flooding in the emirate’s airport, which is one of the world’s busiest airports.

Air India, which operates 72 weekly flights from various cities in the country to Dubai, cancelled its services on Wednesday, a report in PTI said.

An Air India spokesperson said that due to the impact of adverse weather in Dubai, it had to cancel flights to and from the Gulf nation on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“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,” the spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Air India operates 72 weekly flights from various cities to Dubai.

Meanwhile, Indigo said all flights to and from Dubai stand cancelled due to operational challenges caused by bad weather and road conditions. In a Tuesday, Indigo said, flight operations to Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Muscat have been impacted.

Many other airliners including Air India Express, Vistara and SpiceJet also operate flights from various Indian cities to Dubai, which is home to a large number of Indian diaspora.

Meanwhile, an official said that 10 flights from the Delhi airport to Dubai were cancelled on Wednesday. Also, 9 flights that were to arrive from Dubai to the national capital were cancelled.

Details about cancelled flights could not be immediately ascertained.

“Inclement weather has impacted air travel to the UAE, causing delays and diversions. 3-4 of our flights on 16th and 17th were among those delayed. We regret the inconvenience and have offered the option of a full refund or free rescheduling to all impacted guests,” an Air India Express spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. There was no statement from Vistara and SpiceJet.

Unprecedented heavy rains lashed Dubai on Tuesday, disrupting normal lives and flooding the Dubai International Airport.

The Dubai airport has been ranked as the world’s second busiest airport in 2023, handling more than 8.69 crore passengers, according to Airports Council International (ACI).