By Bill Okonedo/ with agency reports
April 19, 2024
¦290 flights cancelled, 440 delayed at Dubai Airport
The Gulf states have suffered heavy rains causing deadly flash floods and disrupting flights at the Dubai International Airport, the world’s second-busiest aviation hub feeding a tourist centre that attracts 17.15 million visitors annually, including 144,000 from Nigeria.
The airport said on Wednesday it was facing “very challenging conditions”, advising some passengers not to turn up, as areas were inundated with water, the BBC reports.
As at Thursday morning, the toll was one individual dead from the flash floods in Dubai and 20 in Oman.
Experts attribute the extreme rains and flooding to a warming atmosphere caused by climate change and researchers anticipate that climate change will lead to heightened temperatures, increased humidity and greater risk of flooding in the Gulf region. It is further said that the problem can be worse in countries like the UAE, where there is a lack of drainage infrastructure to cope with heavy rains.
A UAE government agency that oversees cloud seeding – a process of manipulating clouds to increase rainfall – denied that any such operations took place before the storm.
President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement that he had ordered authorities to assess the damage and provide support to families impacted by the storm.
This is said to be the largest rainfall event in the region since records began 75 years ago according to reports.
It brought disruption to travel and tourism business which contributes an estimated $43 billion to the UAE’s annual GDP and is expected to grow to $72 billion in 2027.
On Wednesday, about 290 flights to and from Dubai International Airport – a major hub for connecting flights to every continent – were cancelled, according to Flight Aware data at 21:00 GMT (22:00 BST).
There were a further 440 delayed flights, the data showed.
According to the latest data published by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), 17.15 million overnight visitors came to Dubai throughout the year 2023.
The destination is also a magnet for Nigerian tourists, with over 144,000 Nigerians visiting the Emirates yearly and a 33 per cent rise in the Nigerian visitors to Dubai.
Nigerians visit the Emirates to holiday, shop, hold weddings birthday celebrations and other anniversaries, as well as for health tourism, education, business, and to invest in real estate. Quite a number of rich and prominent Nigerians live in exquisite apartments in Dubai for most of the year, returning home only intermittently. A good number of Nigerians also teach in universities, while others work in the health sector in the Emirates and Gulf region as doctors and nurses and in other related positions.
It is estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 Nigerians live in the UAE.
The Emirates have two peak holiday seasons, one being in March and the second in November.
The Dubai International Airport, which last year served more than 80 million passengers, second only to Atlanta in the United States, warned recovery would take “some time”.
It said its latest update advised against visiting Terminal 1 without confirmation from airlines and avoiding trips to the airport.
Emirates Airlines, a major international airline headquartered in Dubai, suspended check-in for passengers departing from the city up till Thursday.
Authorities warned that more thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds were forecast, with many low-lying areas still under water.
The United Arab Emirates, Oman’s northern neighbour, experienced on Tuesday its largest rainfall event since records began 75 years ago.
The National Centre of Meteorology announced that 254.8mm (9.7in) had fallen on Khatm al-Shakla, in the region of al-Ain, over less than 24 hours.
The country averages 140-200 mm of rainfall per year, while Dubai typically receives only 97mm. The monthly average for April is only about 8mm.
Footage from the centre of Dubai showed dozens of submerged vehicles on a flooded part of Sheikh Zayed Road, as well as long traffic jams elsewhere on the 12-lane highway.
Kate and Andrew Golding were among several British tourists stranded at the main international airport. They had been there for 12 hours.
“I’m trying to get on another flight,” Andrew, 62, told BBC News. “My wife, Kate is standing in another queue as we’re trying to hedge our bets.”
The couple from Kent were on holiday to celebrate Kate’s 60th birthday, a trip Andrew said she would now “never forget”.
The BBC said it had also been contacted by passengers who were diverted to another Dubai airport, known as Dubai World Central, who described similar scenes and a lack of proper meals and water.
The airport said on Thursday morning it had resumed receiving inbound flights at Terminal 1, used by foreign carriers, but that flights continue to be delayed and disrupted, Reuters reports.
It later said check-in was open at Terminal 3 for Emirates and flydubai flights, but cautioned there was a large number of people waiting to check in and said travellers should only arrive at the terminal if they had departure confirmation from their airline.
Emirates, the single-largest carrier at the airport, had stopped all check-in procedures on Wednesday.
The airport struggled to get food to stranded passengers with nearby roads blocked by flood waters, and because overcrowding limited access to those who had confirmed bookings.
By LAMAI CASSIUS
April 28, 2024
By The Nigerian Observer
April 28, 2024
By The Nigerian Observer
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The Nigerian Observer is a daily newspaper published in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, since 1968 by the Bendel Newspapers Company Limited (BNCL) and is owned by the Edo State Government
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