Dubai International Airport has confirmed that all flights were temporarily grounded once again after footage of what appears to be an Iranian kamikaze drone exploded right next to one of the terminal buildings late on Saturday morning.
Operations at the airport had already been severely disrupted on Saturday after a series of air raid alerts that sent passengers and airport staff running for cover as ‘shelter in place’ warnings were sounded from around 6:30 am on March 7.
Dubai’s government communication department, the Dubai Media Office, initially attempted to downplay what was happening at the city’s main airport, saying a “minor incident” had occurred after debris from an interception fell in an unspecified area.
The statement then refuted any allegations of an incident at Dubai International Airport, after photos and videos circulated on social media of a black cloud of smoke rising in the air close to the airfield.
Despite the reassuring message, however, flight operations at the airport remained severely impacted amidst confirmation from the United Arab Emirates military that they were attempting to intercept Iranian missiles and drones headed to the country.
Flights due to land at Dubai International Airport were put in holding patterns over the UAE desert until air traffic control was ordered to clear the skies and divert the planes to other airports across the region, including Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai World Central, and Muscat.
It has now become clear why the drastic decision to suspend operations at Dubai International Airport was made after another video of what appears to be an Iranian Shahed kamikaze drone (officially known as a one-way attack drone) exploded next to Concourse A, narrowly avoiding the terminal building and a parked Emirates aircraft.
The incident occurred less than a week after the roof of Terminal 3 was struck by an Iranian one-way attack drone, causing damage to the concourse and injuring at least four people.
In the wake of that incident, the airport was evacuated, and Emirates initially suspended all flights. However, in the last few days, Emirates has resumed flights and has been eyeing the resumption of operations to 100% of its global network within days.
Emirates initially said that operations were suspended until further notice and urged passengers not to travel to the airport, but less than an hour later, the airline performed a spectacular and surprising U-turn, saying it was resuming operations.
“Emirates will resume operations. Passengers who have confirmed bookings for this afternoon’s flights may proceed to the airport. This includes customers transiting in Dubai, if their connecting flight is also operating,” the statement explained.
“Emirates continues to monitor the situation, and we will develop our operational schedule accordingly. We would like to thank our customers for their understanding and patience. The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and will not be compromised.”
