Fog causes flights chaos at Dubai Airport

Heavy fog played havoc at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday morning, causing 50 flights to be diverted to a string of other airports around the Gulf.

Dubai Airports said in a statement that the closure of both runways at the region’s biggest aviation hub was caused by “the loss of power to a critical runway backup system required during foggy conditions”, and warned that further delays should be expected.

Both runways were closed at 6.45am local time, and full operations were restored at 8.30am.

The flights were diverted to other airports, including Dubai World Central, Al Ain, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Muscat and Bahrain.

“Dubai Airports is working with airlines, air traffic and ground services staff to restore operations, clear the backlog and limit customer inconvenience,” airport authorities said in a statement.

“As further flight delays are anticipated as a result of the disruption, passengers are advised to check with their airline or airline websites for further information on flight arrival and departure time.”