Thousands of British travellers have had their Christmas plans thrown into disarray after severe thunderstorms caused major disruption at Dubai International Airport.
Storm Grounds Emirates Fleet and Diverts Flights
The extreme weather, which hit the United Arab Emirates on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 December 2025, led to significant operational problems at the world's busiest hub for international travel. Emirates, the airport's main airline, confirmed 26 of its flights were grounded on Friday alone, with services to destinations including the Maldives, the Seychelles, and Sri Lanka affected.
Multiple flights from the UK faced lengthy diversions. Passengers who departed from Gatwick, Manchester, and Newcastle airports on Thursday afternoon found their aircraft rerouted to Dubai World Central, the city's second airport, in the early hours of Friday. Their planes remained on the tarmac for hours before completing the short 28-mile journey to Dubai International.
Other aircraft were sent to Muscat in Oman. In one extreme case, a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Dubai was forced to return to its origin after five hours in the air, having spent much of that time circling above Erbil in Iraq. After refuelling, it made a second, successful attempt, arriving seven hours late.
Connection Havoc and Passenger Ordeal
The knock-on effects continued throughout Friday morning, with flights operating around 90 minutes behind schedule, jeopardising vital connections for onward journeys. The situation left many passengers in limbo, with limited information and provisions.
One traveller, Roger, contacted Emirates on X (formerly Twitter) to express his frustration. He reported being at the airport all night with no access to food or accommodation after his inbound flight arrived two hours late, and was then advised there were no available flights to his final destination.
The disruption extended beyond Emirates. FlyDubai, the hub's low-cost carrier, cancelled dozens of departures. Even Virgin Atlantic's service from Dubai to London Heathrow departed two hours behind schedule.
Know Your Rights as a UK Passenger
For affected travellers flying from the UK, robust air passenger rights are in place. Under UK261 regulations, passengers whose travel schedules are "shredded" by such significant delays and cancellations are entitled to specific assistance.
Key entitlements include:
- Being re-routed to their final destination as soon as possible, potentially on another airline.
- Receipt of meals and refreshments reasonable in relation to the waiting time.
- Hotel accommodation and transfers if an overnight stay becomes necessary.
Passengers are advised to keep all receipts and formally contact their airline to claim these legally mandated benefits. With the Christmas travel period now severely impacted, many face an anxious wait to see if they can reach their families in time for the holidays.
