Floods cause travel chaos in Dubai; India flights hit

Flights from India to Dubai have been disrupted significantly as heavy rains resulted in flooding of the emirate's airport, also one of the world's busiest airports.

IMAGE: Cars are stuck on a flooded road after a rainstorm hit Dubai, on April 17, 2024. Photograph: Rula Rouhana/Reuters

Air India, which operates 72 weekly flights from various cities to Dubai, and IndiGo cancelled their services on Wednesday.

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

An Air India spokesperson said 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.

Meanwhile, an official said 10 flights from the Delhi airport to Dubai were cancelled on Wednesday. Also, nine 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. Three to four of our flights on the 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.

In a post on X on Wednesday, IndiGo said all flights to and from Dubai stand cancelled due to operational challenges caused by bad weather and road conditions.

SpiceJet, in a post on X, said flights to and from Dubai are affected due to adverse weather conditions in Dubai.

There was no statement from Vistara.

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

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