Dubai International Airport (DXB), the busiest international airport in the world, which handles an average of nearly 261,000 passengers every single day, remains indefinitely shut down due to continuing airspace closures throughout the Middle East as Iran continues missile and drone attacks on the UAE and surrounding countries.
Hometown airline Emirates has indefinitely suspended all flights to and from Dubai, with the carrier unable to provide any indication of when operations may resume.
Tens of thousands of passengers are believed to be trapped in the airport, while anyone who hasn’t already started their journey is urged not to even bother traveling to the airport. Anyone in Dubai has been advised to shelter in place and not to travel at all.
Iran continues to fire missiles and explosive kamikaze drones at the UAE, and while local officials say they have successfully intercepted all of the projectiles, there are reports of explosions occurring at several locations across Dubai.
On Saturday night, an explosion and fire were reported outside the Dubai Fairmont Hotel and Resort in the Palm neighborhood, while a drone also struck Kuwait International Airport, causing several injuries and damaging the terminal building.
Earlier on Saturday, passengers ran for cover at Bahrain International Airport after air raid sirens sounded in the area. Flights also remain suspended at Doha International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Qatar Airways had originally hoped to resume operations as early as midnight, but those plans are now in disarray. Etihad Airways says that flights are currently suspended until 2 pm on Sunday, although that restart time could slip depending on how the security situation develops overnight.
Foreign visitors in the region are advised to shelter in place until further notice.
The United Arab Emirates has condemned and “denounced in the strongest terms the blatant Iranian missile attacks that targeted the UAE and several brotherly nations in the region.”
In a statement posted to its official account on X, the government of Dubai said on Saturday night: “May God preserve our country and everyone who lives on this blessed land from all harm.”
This is, without doubt, one of the worst crises for the global aviation industry in recent years, and major disruption is expected over the coming days. Even once the airspace is reopened, it could take some time for airlines in the region to clear passenger backlogs.
The biggest problem at the moment is the uncertainty of what comes next. The first missile strikes by Iran were targeted at US military sites dotted throughout the region, but this now appears to have escalated to attacks on civilian sites such as hotels and airports.
For airlines, it’s far too early for them to say when flights will resume, which is a frustrating situation for passengers to find themselves in.
