Several flights were cancelled at the Dubai International Airport after torrential rain left parts of the city underwater.
Dubai airport is one of the world’s busiest airports.
Airport management said delays were likely to continue throughout the weekend and might begin to ease from today, as many flights were cancelled or diverted
Flights that were not cancelled were diverted to nearby Al Maktoum airport, state-owned Dubai Airports said on Twitter.
Video footage and images posted on social media showed part of the airport’s runway area submerged under water. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
Dubai airport is the base of airlines Emirates and flydubai.
Emirates said several flights to and from Dubai had been delayed. Flydubai said its flights were also delayed, while some had been diverted.
Its operator said delays were likely to continue throughout Saturday, while some flights have been cancelled or diverted.
Images shared on social media showed streets submerged by water and even parts of the airport flooded.
Dubai’s government said there had been “unusually heavy rain”, causing “pools of water” in some parts of the United Arab Emirates‘ largest city.
People could be seen standing in ankle-high water in the middle of roads in images shared by Dubai’s official media centre.
Emirates Airline tweeted: “Heavy rainfall has caused disruptions to several flights departing from or arriving at [Dubai International] today.”
They advised people to check their flight status before travelling.
The first major endurance motorsport event of the year kicked off in Dubai on Friday, but was called off before its halfway point due to the torrential rain.
The Dubai 24 Hours race was cancelled the next morning as officials said water on the track and in the pit lane raised as bad weather continued overnight.
“The weather conditions have heavily impacted the entire city and the infrastructures of Dubai Autodrome,” organisers Creventic said.
