In what’s being termed an extraordinary meteorological event, the skies above the United Arab Emirates opened up with a force unseen since 1949, leading to a deluge that has severely disrupted flight operations from India to Dubai. Since Tuesday, April 16, airlines have been scrambling to address the impact of the inclement weather on their schedules, with Dubai Airport – a hub that prides itself as one of the most bustling intersections of global air traffic – experiencing an unusually high number of cancellations.
Major Indian airlines have been hit hard by the weather that has unfurled across the UAE. IndiGo, which stands as India’s largest carrier considering passenger volume, had to cancel a significant number of flights intended for the Gulf city-state. Its woes were echoed by Tata group’s Air India—which manages an impressive 72 weekly flights connecting various Indian cities with Dubai—as it too was forced to announce service cancellations. They were not alone in their actions, with fellow airlines such as Air India Express, Vistara, and SpiceJet similarly grounding flights in the face of safety concerns.
IndiGo, taking to social media on Thursday, informed its would-be flyers, “Flights to/fro #Dubai stand canceled until 12 PM on Apr 18, due to Airport restrictions and operational challenges caused by bad weather and road blockages.” This notice left many passengers in a lurch, as they scrambled to alter travel plans amidst the weather chaos.
However, as the week progressed, a glimmer of hope emerged for those afflicted by the travel turmoil. Dubai airport announced a return to operational status for Terminal 1, albeit with ongoing delays and alterations. A statement from the airport urged, “We have now resumed arriving flights of airlines operating out of Terminal 1. Flights continue to be delayed and disrupted, so we urge you to only come to Terminal 1 if you have a confirmed booking. Please contact your airline for the latest information on your flight status.”
The complications of the weather were felt even on Wednesday, as an official reported to PTI that ten flights from India’s capital city, Delhi, to Dubai, had been canceled, along with nine inbound flights from Dubai. At that juncture, the specifics of the cancellations remained murky.
Air India Express added to the chorus of disrupted voices with a statement of their own, underscoring the impact of the troublesome weather on air travel, including 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,” expressed a spokesperson for the airline.
This series of cancellations comes despite Dubai airport’s significant status as the world’s second busiest, as per reports from the Airports Council International (ACI) for 2023, which noted it handled upwards of 86.9 million passengers.
The fallout from this meteorological anomaly extended beyond mere inconvenience for travelers: the UAE government took the preemptive action of closing down government schools across the nation until April 19 as a protective measure against the adverse weather conditions.
Even with advanced techniques such as cloud seeding, which the UAE government has been implementing since 2002 to address water security issues, the cities were not spared the ensuing floods due to inadequate drainage systems. Notable among these urban centers was Dubai, typically characterized by its arid climate yet currently grappling with this unforeseen inundation.
