Rain disrupts flight services in UAE

Flights in Dubai and Abu Dhabi were diverted and cancelled due to the unstable weather on Saturday, as forecasters expect rain and wind to lash the UAE until Monday.

A total of 15 inbound flights at Dubai International Airport (DXB) were diverted to neighbouring airports and several others were delayed from taking off due to the rain.

“Normal operations at DXB have been disrupted as a result of the weather conditions persisting since last night,” said Dubai Airports in a statement.

“Passengers are requested to check the status of their flights with their respective airlines before heading to the airport.”

Over at Abu Dhabi International Airport, flagship carrier Etihad Airways said that eight flights had been diverted to airports within the UAE and Gulf region due to the unstable weather

“The airline is working to ensure that they return to Abu Dhabi as soon as possible,” Etihad said in a statement.

“The airline will be monitoring the weather situation in the UAE throughout the day…. Etihad Airways apologizes for any inconvenience caused but the safety and security of our passengers and staff is of the utmost importance.”

In its own statement, Dubai flagship carrier Emirates – which operates around 500 flights a day from DXB – said numerous arriving and departing flights had been delayed and cancelled

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

While Sharjah had also been struck with rainfall, a representative of Sharjah International Airport said that no flights had been delayed or cancelled there.

Wet warning

Forecasters from the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) warned that unstable weather would increase later on Saturday and Sunday, and stretch into Monday.

“Rain will affect the whole costal areas of the UAE, and the wind will be fresh to strong at times,” a forecaster told Gulf News. He added that high humidity – around 82 to 83 per cent – would bolster cloud formation.

Drivers should be cautious due to the wet roads and poor visibility, the forecasters said.

People out at sea on both the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman should be advised of rough to very rough conditions in general.  Wind, which is coming from a south-westerly direction, had brought an extended area of low pressure.

Satellite images showed a blanket of cloud – some of them rainclouds - over the entire UAE, Qatar and eastern parts of Saudi Arabia, all the way over to northern parts of Oman and Iran.

Saturday’s downpour is just part of a five-day streak of unstable weather that began on Thursday evening, the forecaster said.

“Unstable weather conditions will affect all of the UAE,” the forecaster added.

On Twitter, using the hashtag ‘rain,’ more than 2,000 people in the UAE posted updates on the downpour.

Dubai Police also took to Twitter to warn drivers of hydroplaning – where water builds up under the tyres – and advised keeping a slower speed. Abu Dhabi’s police echoed the call.

On Saturday afternoon, the countrywide average temperature hovered at around 27 degrees Celsius, with highs of around 33 degrees Celsuis in the western region.

At the same time, at the top of Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah, one of the UAE’s highest mountains, temperatures were around 11.5 degrees Celsius

source : gulfnews