Dubai Airport Is Trying To Recover From A Large Baggage Backlog After Epic Flood

Dubai International Airport (DXB) continues dealing with the fallout from the heavy rain that Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and other parts of the country, had experienced on April 16, 2024. According to the National Center of Meteorology of the UAE, the country received the largest amount of rainfall in the past 75 years.

Disruptions continuing at DXB

In a statement issued by Emirates on X, formerly known as Twitter, the airline said that it has suspended check-in for its customers with onward connections through DXB until 03:59 local time (UTC +4). The airline added that passengers with connections in DXB will only be accepted at their point of origin if their flight departs after that time.

“This is to support operations recovery from the recent bad weather at our Dubai hub. Passengers already in Dubai and in transit will be accepted on their flights.”

Photo: Abid Habib | Simple Flying

Nevertheless, Emirates stated that passengers who are traveling to the city as their final destination may check in and travel as usual. However, the carrier warned about delays to departures and arrivals, advising passengers to check its website for the latest flight updates.

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At least 45 arriving and departing flights have been canceled throughout the day, with arrivals affected into the evening.

Limiting arrivals

Meanwhile, DXB, in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, said that while it was doing its best to “support guests impacted by delays due to recent unprecedented weather conditions,” it will limit the number of arrivals for a couple of hours.

“We understand the worry that families of our elderly guests are feeling, as they’ve had to spend longer than expected at DXB. Please know that our teams are focused on providing priority welfare to families and elderly guests and are doing all that we can to ease their journey.”

Flightradar24 data showed that flight activity levels have dropped significantly at DXB. On April 16, out of the 607 scheduled flights from DXB, 336 were tracked (55.3%). The situation worsened the next day, with only 226 departing itineraries being tracked out of the scheduled 622 (36.3%). On April 18, the situation somewhat normalized, with the flight tracking service indicating that out of 638 departing flights, it tracked 453 (71%).

Photo: Philip Lange | Shutterstock

Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that there are 4,141 arriving flights to DXB per week in April 2024. On April 16, airlines had scheduled 586 arriving flights, while on the following day, the schedules were filled with 596 flights to DXB. Typically, the busiest days of the week in terms of arriving flights at DXB are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with 596 flights arriving at the airport.

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Many flights to and from Dubai have been delayed and canceled in the past 24 hours.

Flooded airport

According to the statement by the UAE National Center of Meteorology, which was shared by the UAE government’s media office on X, formerly known as Twitter, the country experienced rainfall that it had not seen for 75 years. One area, known as Khatm al-Shakla, located to the west of Al Ain International Airport (AAN), saw 254.8 millimeters of rain in less than 24 hours.

Photo: Savvapanf Photo | Shutterstock

Due to the huge amount of rain, videos shared on various social media channels showed DXB’s apron, as well as other areas of the airport, being flooded, which resulted in a lot of disruption to the flights scheduled on the day. Flightradar24 statistics showed minimal disruption for departing flights from Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport (AUH).

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