Adverse weather hits Dubai flights; Air India cancels services on Wed

Flights from India to Dubai have been disrupted significantly as heavy rains resulted in flooding of the emirate’s airport, also one of the world's busiest airports.

Air India, which operates 72 weekly flights from various cities to Dubai, cancelled its services on Wednesday.

Apart from Air India, Air India Express, Vistara and SpiceJet also operate flights from various Indian cities to Dubai, which is also home to a large number of Indian diaspora.

An Air India spokesperson said that due to the impact of adverse weather in Dubai, it had to cancel flights to and from the Gulf nation on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We are doing our best to get affected passengers on their way as soon as possible by re-accommodating them on flights in the next few days. We are also offering a one-time date change waiver to passengers with valid tickets on 16 and 17 April, allowing them to reschedule their flights to future dates within the validity of the tickets," the spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Air India operates 72 weekly flights from various cities to Dubai. Meanwhile, an official said 10 flights from Delhi airport to Dubai were cancelled on Wednesday. Also, nine flights that were to arrive from Dubai to the national capital were cancelled. Details about cancelled flights could not be immediately ascertained.

"Inclement weather has impacted air travel to the UAE, causing delays and diversions. 3-4 of our flights on 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," an Air India Express spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. There was no statement from Vistara and SpiceJet.

Unprecedented heavy rains and a thunderstorm lashed Dubai on Tuesday, dumping over a year-and-a-half's worth of rain on the desert city-state in the span of hours as it flooded out portions of major highways and its international airport.

The airport was ranked as the world's second busiest in 2023, handling more than 8.69 crore passengers, according to Airports Council International.