Thousands of British travellers faced a night of disruption after a drone attack near Dubai International Airport (DXB) forced a temporary shutdown of the world's busiest international airport. The attack, launched by Iran, caused a blaze near the airport in the early hours of Monday, leading to a suspension of flights as a precautionary measure.
Six Emirates flights from UK airports were affected. One inbound flight from Heathrow, EK30, diverted to Dubai World Central. Two flights from Heathrow, and one each from Gatwick, Manchester and Edinburgh, turned back to their starting points. The Edinburgh to Dubai flight, EK24, spent 11 hours airborne before returning to Scotland, having reached Egypt before being ordered back.
Passengers on the Sunday night Emirates flight from London Stansted to Dubai endured an 11-hour journey that ended in Vienna instead of the UAE. Flight EK68 is expected to continue to Dubai later on Monday. Under air passengers' rights rules, travellers are entitled to be rebooked on the first available flight, but with reduced schedules, rebooking is proving difficult.
British travellers returning from Asia and Australia face further problems, as air passengers' rights rules do not apply to flights starting outside Europe on non-UK/EU airlines. Many intercontinental Emirates flights returned to their starting points, including those from Sydney, Melbourne, Bangkok and Hong Kong, all carrying significant numbers of British passengers.
Some Emirates flights landed in Europe, Africa and Asia instead of the Middle East. Passengers from Toronto ended up in Rome, while the flight from Dallas Fort Worth diverted to Milan. The flight from Accra landed in Addis Ababa. DXB has now reopened with a reduced service, and many departing flights have been cancelled, affecting passengers due to travel from the UK on Monday night and Tuesday.
