Heavy rain in UAE leads to cancellation of over 40 Pakistan flights

Flights in and out around UAE are being affected by adverse weather conditions, leading to delays, diversions and cancellations.

Dubai airport, one of the busiest in the world, has temporarily paused flight operations, resulting in the cancellation of over 40 flights to Pakistan.

Around 43 flights to Pakistan from Dubai have also been cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) Lahore to Dubai flight PK-203; Dubai to Lahore flight PK-204, and Lahore to Sharjah flight PK-185 had to be cancelled.

Similarly, SereneAir’s flight from Lahore to Dubai ER-1723 was delayed by more than 10 hours.

Emirates flight EK-622, from Dubai to Lahore, was delayed by three and a half hours, while last night Lahore-Dubai flight EK-623 was also delayed by four hours.

Dubai’s giant highways were clogged by flooding and airport passengers were urged to stay away on Wednesday as the glitzy financial centre reeled from record rains.

Passengers were warned not to come to Dubai airport, the world’s busiest by international traffic, “unless absolutely necessary”, an official said.

“Flights continue to be delayed and diverted… We are working hard to recover operations as quickly as possible in very challenging conditions,” a Dubai Airports spokesperson said.

Dubai’s flagship Emirates airline cancelled all check-ins on Wednesday as staff and passengers struggled to arrive and leave, with access roads flooded and some metro services suspended.

At the airport, long taxi queues formed and delayed passengers milled around. Scores of flights were also delayed, cancelled and diverted during Tuesday’s torrential rain.

The storms hit the UAE and Bahrain overnight Monday and on Tuesday after lashing Oman, where 18 people were killed, including several children.