Thousands of British travellers have faced major disruptions after Dubai International Airport suspended flights following a drone strike near a fuel tank. The shutdown, announced at 1:36am GMT on Monday, caused multiple Emirates flights to be diverted or cancelled, affecting passengers heading to and from the UK.
Among the affected services, a flight from London Stansted was diverted to Vienna, Austria, while all seven Emirates flights from Dubai to London Heathrow on Monday were cancelled. Five flights from UK airports, including one from Edinburgh that reached Egyptian airspace, were forced to return to their points of origin.
The airport confirmed at 6:11am that flights were gradually resuming to selected destinations. However, the incident has compounded travel chaos for British expats and others stranded in the Middle East since the start of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, which has led to widespread airspace closures and flight suspensions across the region.
It remains unclear whether the drone was intercepted or what its intended target was. Social media posts claimed the drone hit a fuel tank, producing a large plume of black smoke near the airport, but this has not been officially confirmed. This is the third time Dubai’s airport has been impacted by nearby strikes since the conflict began.
The disruption adds to the economic fallout of the conflict, with an economist warning that soaring prices could leave London families up to £1,500 worse off. The UAE and other Gulf states host US military facilities, which Iran has said would be targets, though civilian infrastructure has also been hit.
