Emirates passenger reveals airport chaos after 'exceptional' weather event

Dubai experienced its largest daily rainfall in the past 75 years, while flooding also caused chaos in neighbouring Oman.

Sophie Coghill
·News Reporter
Updated ·2-min read

Emirates passengers were among thousands of travellers faced with long delays this week after Dubai was drenched with two year's worth of rain over a 24-hour period. Dramatic vision shows the airport's runway resembling a lake while planes attempted to taxi along it.

One woman excitedly on her way home said her flight was initially running to schedule but she ended up enduring six hours of extra travel time on Tuesday, sharing images of deep water rippling on the runway.

"So Dubai airport shut down and flooded. Yikes," the passenger wrote online.

A woman smiles at the camera (left) and a picture of an Emirates boarding pass (inset) with flooding seen at Dubai airport (right).
One Emirates passenger shares her ordeal in Dubai amid the flooding. Source: Tiktok
Left: Flooding on a Dubai road. Right: A FlyDubai jet ploughs through a river of water on the runway.
The flooding in Dubai caused chaos on roads and at the airport, with passengers having their travel time delayed. Source: Getty and X

The airport, which is the second busiest in the world, ceased operations for a short time during the day. Video shared on social media, seen below, shows a FlyDubai aircraft spraying water while trying to move along the runway. Roads in Dubai turned into rivers, with many forced to abandon their cars due to the unprecedented amount of rainfall — the largest amount experienced in the city in the last 75 years.

Dubai, like the rest of the United Arab Emirates, has a hot and dry climate and is situated in the Arabian Desert. The weather event was described as "exceptional" and impacted neighbouring countries.

At least 17 deaths in Oman due to intense flooding

Heavy rainfall also fell on neighbouring Oman with roads and transport links significantly impacted. At least 17 were killed including a group of school children and a driver after the bus they were travelling in was overcome by floodwater.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors with the Omani military and specialist police force deployed to transport citizens away from high-risk areas.

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