Weather Challenges for Dubai’s Busy Airport
The Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the top airport for international passengers. This year’s report from the Airport Council International World revealed that the airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is now the 2nd busiest in the world and the busiest airport outside of the United States.
Unfortunately, the many passengers moving through the Dubai airport recently got caught in a weather-related traffic jam.
Extreme Weather Causes Traffic Cancellations
On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, a storm front pushed across the United Arab Emirates. This storm unloaded around 10 inches of water in the most affected areas. According to meteorologists, this was a year’s worth of rain happening all at once. Such a storm had not been experienced in the region for 75 years. And such a high volume of water overwhelmed both the ground’s ability to absorb it and the airport’s water control system.
By Thursday, April 18, airport runways were flooded and created conditions that made it unsafe for planes to operate. This caused cancellations of nearly 1,500 flights.
Thousands of travelers were left stranded. Some passengers who were scheduled to leave on Tuesday were still waiting for a flight and safe conditions to leave two days later. Water leaked through some areas of the airport roof and stranded travelers had difficulties getting enough food and drink as they waited at the airport. And the effects of the storm and cancellations were not only felt in Dubai. Airline passengers in other countries flying into Dubai were also stuck with flight cancellations or delays.
UAE authorities are working to evaluate the country’s infrastructure and provide support for the residents that were affected by the flooding outside of the airport. This historic flooding highlights how the airline industry can be deeply affected when extreme weather events occur.