Dubai airport (DXB) flooded

[Big Boy]

Amazing

[STEVE G]

Yes, I just reading yesterday that Dubai is now the second busiest airport in the world so I hope it doesn't get too much disruption.

[Dannie Boy]

These events whilst fairly rare are not unique. I’ve checked the weather forecast and it’s looking dry for the foreseeable future so it’s unlikely to have any lasting impact.

I used to work in the region and witnessed some fairly drastic storms, but these were normally in November or December so no doubt another link to the impact of global warming.


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[JohnD]

I worked in Jeddah for one year.
It only rained once, and oddly enough that was on Xmas Day.
I should add, only light rain.

If I remember correctly, there was an odd smell of camel pee/pooh in the air, as the rain soaked into the fertilised flower beds in the compound.
Nostalgia - not.

[PeteC]

It looks like it may be closed/disrupted longer than expected.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68831408

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68839657

[404cameljockey]

I'm in Dubai. Changed my flight back to Thailand from Tuesday until tomorrow (Thursday). But no check-ins were allowed today at all so tomorrow will be horrendous and can imagine my flight being delayed or even cancelled (less likely). I'm not prepared to stay in a hotel booked by Emirates overnight either, so I'm now flying on Sunday. Many major roads yesterday and today are impassable, tomorrow hopefully may be getting better, and airport runways will be definitely be cleared of water by tomorrow, as the rain stopped yesterday afternoon, but a video of an Etihad flight taxiing at Dubai airport yesterday in around 2 feet of water disturbed me.

A friend and other passengers on Tuesday had to walk in water up to their knees to get into Terminal 3 departures, with staff carrying baggage on their shoulders. Drainage in the UAE has improved enormously in the last 20 years, but this is almost unprecedented weather.

Heaviest continual rain for 75 years according to the met office.

[404cameljockey]

I used to work in the region and witnessed some fairly drastic storms, but these were normally in November or December so no doubt another link to the impact of global warming.

Dubai government sent seven cloud seeding planes up on Monday and Tuesday, but they are denying that that could be even partially responsible for the tremendous floods. No doubt global warming, then ...

[PeteC]

Good luck with it all and let us know how it plays out, stay safe.

You get the "HHF Action News Live Reporting" award this month!

[404cameljockey]

Thursday morning, and Emirates have announced that they have lifted the suspension on check-ins. A few flights took off yesterday before the suspension started. My daughter's friend was one, after a 7 hour delay. The knock-on effect will be huge for a while, and I'm sure Emirates will prioritize their own flights. I don't know about other airlines, might be a nightmare; a friend is supposed to be flying Turkish Airlines to Spain on Sunday. I've urged him to check how their flights are operating in the days leading up to Sunday.

The general advice as far as roads are concerned is 'stay home', still several major roads are closed or impassable. On some roads (including Sheikh Zayed Road) central concrete reservations have been demolished to allow one side of the motorway to allow two-way traffic. Anyone who has a low riding car should not try any journeys as deep lakes still exist in some places. Underground parking is definitely dangerous. For travel, getting out of local areas is the problem. My daughter is supposed to travel to Ras Al Khaimah tomorrow, she hopes that if it's possible to get out of Dubai, the roads outside may probably be OK (it's cities, where the sand is almost 100pc concreted over/tarmacked, which are the big problem).

Your Dubai correspondent signing off.

[STEVE G]

I used to work in the region and witnessed some fairly drastic storms, but these were normally in November or December so no doubt another link to the impact of global warming.

Dubai government sent seven cloud seeding planes up on Monday and Tuesday, but they are denying that that could be even partially responsible for the tremendous floods. No doubt global warming, then ...

"....and one way to know for certain that it was not caused by tinkering with clouds is that it was forecast days in advance. Atmospheric science researcher Tomer Burg pointed to computer models that six days earlier forecast several inches of rain — the typical amount for an entire year in the UAE."
https://apnews.com/article/dubai-united ... 79646b3758

[404cameljockey]

I used to work in the region and witnessed some fairly drastic storms, but these were normally in November or December so no doubt another link to the impact of global warming.

Dubai government sent seven cloud seeding planes up on Monday and Tuesday, but they are denying that that could be even partially responsible for the tremendous floods. No doubt global warming, then ...

"....and one way to know for certain that it was not caused by tinkering with clouds is that it was forecast days in advance. Atmospheric science researcher Tomer Burg pointed to computer models that six days earlier forecast several inches of rain — the typical amount for an entire year in the UAE."
https://apnews.com/article/dubai-united ... 79646b3758

I think a lot would depend on which cloud formations they decided to seed, and even why they seeded if very heavy rain was forecast? Yes, heavy rain was forecast in advance, and two or three days before the event the forecast was changed to very heavy rain. I was here for the whole period.

[2dandan]

I too was caught up in the chaos and mayhem at Dubai airport after the storm.

We arrived at 0300 on Wednesday and finally departed to BKK at 6pm on Friday. The airport went into meltdown. No Emirates staff to be seen, no accommodation offered, no food and an 8.5 hour melee in the connections office trying to get a new flight booked during which 4 people fainted, a woman became hysterical, numerous fights nearly broke out and customers nearly rioted because for hours the limited Emirates staff were serving “locals” through a side door.

Anyhow I digress and have a question for 404cameljockey and anyone else affected.

Have you had your luggage delivered yet. Im still waiting.

[404cameljockey]

I too was caught up in the chaos and mayhem at Dubai airport after the storm.

We arrived at 0300 on Wednesday and finally departed to BKK at 6pm on Friday. The airport went into meltdown. No Emirates staff to be seen, no accommodation offered, no food and an 8.5 hour melee in the connections office trying to get a new flight booked during which 4 people fainted, a woman became hysterical, numerous fights nearly broke out and customers nearly rioted because for hours the limited Emirates staff were serving “locals” through a side door.

Anyhow I digress and have a question for 404cameljockey and anyone else affected.

Have you had your luggage delivered yet. Im still waiting.

Sorry to hear that, good luck. I delayed coming home until yesterday (Sunday) as I foresaw road and airport problems continuing until Fri/Sat. I saw video of Terminal 3 check-in area on Wednesday and I feel for you, yes it was a zoo. I flew business class (a one off, honestly) from Dubai to Suvarnabhumi and all went very smoothly, Dubai check-ins were quite clear of problems and Suvarna baggage reclaim seemed fine but I wasn't at the carousel for long. My friend flew Dubai/Spain a few hours earlier than me in the morning on Turkish Airlines and he luckily had no problems. Only 50 minute Dubai tarmac delay for my flight awaiting takeoff. Many flights cancelled on the board, but not Emirates flights, As I thought, they prioritised their own flights.

[2dandan]

I have flown with Emirates for about 20 years and highly rate them however on this occasion they failed to deal with the aftermath of the storm. Not one person communicated with us and they virtually pulled their website so that it was effectively inoperative. After about 18 hours they cancelled our flight, and I think everybody elses, without telling us but we quickly found out on the grapevine. We couldn't book online due to the website being pulled and had to use the Emirates connection centres of which there were 2. We made our way to the largest and there were about 3 or 4 thousand people queuing. I walked the line and videod it and it took a full 3 minutes to get from the end to the beginning. Utter chaos, no organisation and no Emirates staff. We then made our way to the smaller connections centre. It was less busy, less efficient, less interested and even more chaotic than the first place. All during my stay Emirates stated that our flights were delayed and updated that delay every 2 hours or so. They knew the flights were not going and effectively lied to avoid cancellation and, in my mind, compensation costs. When I landed in BKK no-one had any luggage. Report was made to BKK airport staff who were very efficient. On Saturday night I was informed by Emirates that my luggage was “scheduled” to be onboard an aircraft which was due to land at BKK at 0736 yesterday. This is probably another mistruth as I have had no further communication and surprise surprise no luggage delivery.

[Dannie Boy]

Not in any way trying to justify their inaction, but this was a once in a lifetime event that obviously caught them completely unprepared. I guess they’re acting a bit like they often do in Thailand and don’t want to admit to their deficiencies - whereas all you and people similarly affected are looking for is a bit of truth!!


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