Airports across the United Arab Emirates canceled and delayed dozens of flights on Friday as the heaviest rainstorm in months swept through the desert nation, flooding major roads and disrupting daily life in key cities.
Dubai-based Emirates airline canceled 13 flights, while neighboring Sharjah International Airport reported delays and additional cancellations following an overnight downpour marked by lightning and loud thunder.
Heavy Rains Disrupt Flights, Flood Roads Across UAE
Air travel and road movement were disrupted across the United Arab Emirates on Friday after the heaviest rain in months battered the desert country, flooding major streets and forcing the cancellation and delay of dozens of flights.
Dubai-based Emirates airline cancelled 13 flights, while passengers also faced delays and cancellations at Sharjah airport following an overnight downpour accompanied by lightning and loud thunder. Flight information on the Dubai Airports website showed many departures and arrivals running behind schedule, with some completely cancelled.
In Sharjah, floodwaters submerged major roads, including the city’s main street, forcing residents to wade through water barefoot. Videos circulating online showed one man riding a bicycle through the flooded road, with water reaching the top of the wheels.
In Dubai, authorities deployed water-pumping trucks early Friday to clear flooded roads and large pools of water. A day earlier, Dubai police had advised residents to stay indoors unless travel was “absolutely necessary” as the storm approached.
The situation brought back memories of April 2024, when record rainfall across the UAE caused severe flooding, killed at least four people and grounded more than 2,000 flights at Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world.
The UAE’s National Center of Meteorology had warned of rainfall across the country from Thursday to Friday, including in Dubai and the capital, Abu Dhabi.
Other Gulf countries were also affected by heavy rain. In Qatar, organisers cancelled Thursday’s Arab Cup third-place playoff match between Saudi Arabia and the UAE due to bad weather.
Experts have linked the increasingly intense rainfall in the region to climate change. A study by the World Weather Attribution group said global warming caused by fossil fuel emissions most likely worsened last year’s extreme rains in the UAE and neighbouring Oman.
