Dubai is reeling from a heavy, two-day storm as roads were flooded and flights were axed at the city’s airport.
Residents in the usually sunny Emirati city were told to stay cautious and avoid going outdoors as a storm swept over the Gulf states, bringing torrential rain, thunder and hail.
Authorities issued a weather alert overnight, telling people to only venture out if necessary due to heavy rain and the risk of flash floods.
The storm, which battered wartorn Gaza Strip and the Middle East earlier in the week, is expected to ease by tomorrow morning as the rain eases and gives way to sunshine, with temperatures back at the average 25C on Sunday, forecasts show.
The latest storm triggered memories of the severe flooding in April last year, when swathes of Dubai roads, homes and the airfield were waterlogged.
The brunt of the bad weather landed yesterday evening, with non-stop rain battering Dubai until Friday afternoon.
Dozens of flights at Dubai International Airport (DXB) were delayed and cancelled, including early morning services to Heathrow and Gatwick. Several flights continue to be affected today, with dozens of flyDubai flights reporting delays, according to Flightradar24.
Travellers booked on Emirates flights also face delays, and the upmarket airline told passengers to check their flight status on its website and to arrive at the airport at least four hours before their scheduled departure.
What Emirates flights from Dubai are cancelled today?
Here is a full list of cancelled Emirates flights today, Friday, December 19, according to the airline:
- EK977/978 Dubai/Tehran/Dubai
- EK823/824 Dubai/Dammam/Dubai
- EK945/946 Dubai/Basra/Dubai
- EK866/867 Dubai/Muscat/Dubai
- EK853/854 Dubai/Kuwait/Dubai
- EK835/836 Dubai/Bahrain/Dubai
- EK837/838 Dubai/Bahrain/Dubai
- EK705/796 Dubai/Seychelles/Dubai
- EK656/657 Dubai/Male/Dubai
- EK650/651 Dubai/Colombo/Dubai
- EK636/637 Dubai/Peshawar/Dubai
- EK043/44 Dubai/Frankfurt/Dubai
- EK322/323 Dubai/Incheon/Dubai
The airport, which handles around 96 million passengers a year, said on X this afternoon: ‘Operations have returned to normal following the recent weather disruption.
‘Flights are operating as planned, with only a limited number of connecting flights still being cleared. Please check your flight status with your airline and plan your journey in advance using real-time traffic updates.’
Concern grew ahead of the storm that it could upend travel plans for expats making journeys back home for Christmas, including for hundreds of thousands of British nationals.
Private sector employees and all government staff were told to work from home today, while events and parks were closed.
Coupled with strong gusts, people were also told to tie down balcony furniture, and to avoid walking or driving through waterlogged roads.
The National Centre of Meteorology issued an orange alert over hazardous weather for Dubai, Fujairah, parts of Sharjah and neighbouring Abu Dhabi.
Clean-up efforts are already underway across the city, with a majority of the main roads reportedly open in the early evening, while smaller streets are still under high water.
Residents are assessing the flood damage in affected neighbourhoods.
Rubesh Pillai, a businessman who lives in southern Dubai, barricaded his villa with hundreds of sandbags to stop the home from flooding again. His home was flooded in 2010, 2016, 2023 and 2024.
He told The National: ‘I escaped by a whisker this storm. I used over 500 sandbags to block the water.’
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?
According to the Civil Aviation Authority, UK and EU airlines must look after you if your flight is delayed or cancelled.
This includes everything from meals and accommodation to an alternative flight if necessary.
Citizen’s Advice says that airlines should also give impacted passengers access to phone calls and emails and, if they offer you a place to stay, organise the journeys between the hotel and the airport.
Sometimes, the airline will cover this by handing you vouchers at the airport. When in doubt, keep any receipts for expenses and claim them back afterwards from the airline.
But an airline will only cough up money for ‘reasonable’ expenses. The hotel minibar or penthouse suites likely can’t be expensed.
If you didn’t book with a UK or EU airline, you’ll need to check their terms and conditions. However, for the most part, airlines should provide meals and accommodation as appropriate.
When am I eligible for this support?
Whether you’re eligible for the above depends on the distance of your flight and how long you have waited:
- For short-haul (up to 1,500km over two hours or less) you must have been waiting for two hours or more.
- For medium-haul (between 1,500km and 3,500km over two to four hours) it’s three hours or more.
- For long-haul (more than 3,500km over four hours or more) it’s four hours or more.
If my flight is cancelled, can I get a refund?
If your flight is covered by UK law, you can choose between either getting your cancelled flight refunded or being booked on an alternative route.
Any part of your ticket you haven’t used is eligible for a refund. So, if you were on a return flight to Heathrow, for example, and the outbound leg was cancelled, you can get that part of the journey refunded.
You’ll typically get your money back within a week.
But not everyone is up for being stuck mid-layover. If you still want to travel, your airline must find a way to get you to your destination.
This can include, say, if another airliner is flying to where you need to go soon or if there’s another form of transport you can take. All at no extra cost.
Can I get any extra compensation?
What the law calls ‘extraordinary circumstances’ can include a fire, bird strikes, defects with a plane, or bad weather.
But none of these entitles impacted passengers to extra compensation, consumer watchdog Which? says. They’re largely considered outside the airline’s control.
In other circumstances, however, it’s a different story. You have several rights under the law if your journey is impacted by staff shortages, airline staff walkouts or if your flight was delayed because bad weather delayed a previous flight.
What you’re entitled to depends on the cause of the cancellation and how much notice the airline gave you.
This can range from £220 for short-haul flights, £350 for mid-haul and £520 for long-haul.
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