LONDON: Thick fog caused widespread disruption at airports in the UAE yesterday, with Emirates and Saudi among the carriers hit by the delays.
Dozens of flights were canceled or delayed at airports in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, with others diverted as visibility to less than 100 meters.
It came as thousands of people were preparing to fly out to celebrate the holiday period at home while others were due to arrive to enjoy a country that many holidaymakers associate more with sun than fog.
“Normal operations at Dubai International (DXB) have been disrupted this morning as result of weather conditions. A total of 53 inbound flights were diverted to neighboring airports, including to Dubai World Central,” Dubai Airports said in a statement to Arab News. “Dubai Airports is working with airlines and other stakeholders to ensure the comfort of our customers and normalize operations as quickly as possible.”
The disruption extended to the evening with flights due to depart to Riyadh at 4 p.m. operated by Saudia and Nasair, still showing as delayed on airport information screens
Carriers including Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, apologized to customers for the delays and urged them to check their flight status before starting their journeys.
Dubai International Airport is one of the world’s busiest and a major hub for long haul travel, which means that yesterday’s fog caused knock-on delays for many passengers.
Some travelers took to social media to vent their frustration.
“Shouldn’t blame the fog, but stuck here in Dubai airport and looks like it will be for longer as haven’t heard any update yet! Will miss my connection in Paris! Not happy before Xmas,” tweeted Gracie.
The situation at the airport improved by late afternoon with Saudia telling customers that services were back to normal .
Police in the UAE also warned drivers to be extremely cautious after a spate of accidents on the country’s roads.
Fog turns festive cheer to misery in Dubai
Fog turns festive cheer to misery in Dubai
Israel launches ‘large scale operation’ to locate last hostage in Gaza
- The return of the remaining hostage, Ran Gvili, has been widely seen as removing the remaining obstacle to moving ahead with opening the Rafah crossing, which would signal the ceasefire’s second phase
NAHARIYA, Israel: Israel said Sunday its military was conducting a “large-scale operation” to locate the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressure Israel and Hamas to move into the next phase of their ceasefire.
The statement came as Israel’s Cabinet met to discuss the possibility of opening Gaza’s key Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and a day after top US envoys met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about next steps.
The return of the remaining hostage, Ran Gvili, has been widely seen as removing the remaining obstacle to moving ahead with opening the Rafah crossing, which would signal the ceasefire’s second phase.
The return of all remaining hostages, alive or dead, has been a central part of the first phase of the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10. Before Sunday, the previous hostage was recovered in early December.
While Israel has carried out search efforts before for Gvili, more detail than usual was released about this one. Israel’s military said it was searching a cemetery in northern Gaza near the Yellow Line, which marks off Israeli-controlled parts of the territory.
Separately, an Israeli military official said Gvili may have been buried in the Shujaiyya–Daraj Tuffah area, and that rabbis and dental experts were on the ground with specialized search teams. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing an operation still under way.
Gvili’s family has urged Netanyahu’s government not to enter the ceasefire’s second phase until his remains are returned.
But pressure has been building, and the Trump administration has already declared in recent days that the second phase is under way.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final hostage. Hamas in a statement Sunday said it had provided all the information it had about Gvili’s remains, and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.
