'Don’t Come Unless Absolutely Necessary': Dubai Airport's Appeal Amid Rain Chaos; India Flights Impacted

The Dubai International (DXB) diverted all inbound flights that were due to arrive on Tuesday due to the inclement weather situation. The DXB is the world’s busiest airport for international passengers. Flights departing from Dubai carried on as usual. The DXB early Wednesday morning urged passengers to not come to the airport ‘unless absolutely necessary’.

“We advise you NOT to come to the airport, unless absolutely necessary.

Flights continue to be delayed and diverted. Please check your flight status directly with your airline. We are working hard to recover operations as quickly as possible in very challenging conditions,” the airport authorities said in a tweet.

More than 500 flights, both arriving and departing, have faced diversions, delays, or cancellations due to rains and storms, which are expected to continue on Wednesday as well.

Around 15 flights to Dubai and 13 flights to India have been cancelled, according to a report by broadcaster NDTV.

“There is major flooding on roads leading to the airport and forecasts indicate that the unsettled weather will continue till tomorrow morning. Remember to check your flight status with your airline, allow significant extra travel time to the airport,” the DXB said in several posts on its X page.

By the end of Tuesday, more than 142 millimeters (5.59 inches) of rainfall had soaked Dubai over 24 hours. An average year sees 94.7 millimeters (3.73 inches) of rain at Dubai International Airport.

The airport confirmed a halt to arrivals at 7:26 pm (local time) and announced that operations will resume gradually more than two hours later. In its latest post on X, it acknowledged that many passengers failed to reach the airport due to flooded roads. It urged passengers to allow significant extra travel time to the airport.

The airport authorities also acknowledged that many passengers could not reach the airport for their departing flights and that they have provided food and drinks to as many passengers as possible.

It also asked passengers to confirm the status of their flights with respective carriers before heading to the airport.

Carriers flydubai and Emirates have announced cancellations of their flights. All flydubai flights scheduled for departure from Dubai on April 16 have been cancelled until 10am on April 17, according to Khaleej Times.

“Due to adverse weather conditions, multiple flights to and from DXB are experiencing delays or disruptions. We are working hard to get all affected passengers to their final destination safely, and will provide updates as soon as possible,” carrier Emirates said in a post and shared links to their internal website, urging passengers to keep checking their flight status.