Thick fog delays flights at UAE airports

Disruption as flights are grounded or diverted at Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Thousands of passengers affected as dozens of flights on Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports were disrupted because of low visibility,

The staff were good at keeping everyone cool

Andre Frederiksen passenger

DUBAI // Thousands of passengers faced delays at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports after heavy fog grounded or disrupted flights.

Dozens of incoming flights at both airports on Saturday evening and yesterday morning were diverted to neighbouring airports, while outgoing flights faced several hours’ delay.

Many passengers took to social media to express their frustration, and one posted a picture with Edgar Davids, the former Dutch international footballer, who was also stuck at Dubai Airport.

Andre Frederiksen, 25, from Copenhagen, Denmark, was in Dubai for a wedding and due to fly at 8.30am on yesterday.

“The airport was packed – Stockholm, Dublin, all the European flights were cancelled from yesterday so flights were overbooked,” he said. “It was very hectic at first with people jostling for position in the queues.

“Staff would call out the flights that had available seats and if there were any cancellations you could get one but it was first come, first served.”

Mr Frederiksen asked Emirates airline to be put on the next available flight to Copenhagen, but was told he had to wait.

“The staff were good at keeping everyone cool,” he said. “We asked about a hotel for the night but we were told there weren’t any. Luckily, we can stay with friends.” A spokesman for Dubai International Airport explained what flights were affected. “A total of 13 incoming flights were diverted to neighbouring airports due to low visibility,” he said. “We deployed resources and implemented a schedule recovery plan in an effort to minimise disruptions and customer inconvenience.” Emirates urged customers to check their flight status for the latest information.

“Emirates apologises for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance and will not be compromised,” said a spokesman.

In Abu Dhabi, several incoming and outgoing flights were similarly affected. A spokesman for Etihad Airways said: “As a result of the dense fog that occurred today there has been minor disruption to our operations.

“This resulted in the diversion of two flights from Peshawar and Trivandrum to Al Bateen and Al Ain airports. However, the flights have now returned to Abu Dhabi. The schedule is returning to normal and all customers are advised to check in as normal.”

The National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology said the fog was caused by rising humidity, a change in temperature and calm winds. “We may see patches of fog on Monday morning, but only over the coastal areas,” he added.

“Over the next few days, the air mass will change and the wind will change to south easterly. The relative humidity will also decrease.

“There will be a chance of patches of light fog [on Monday morning]. But from Monday afternoon onwards, the probability for more fog will go down.”