UAE sandstorm: No impact on Dubai air traffic, confirms official

Severe sandstorm in parts of the Gulf disrupts air travel this week

Waheed Abbas

Published: Wed 18 May 2022, 12:59 PM

Last updated: Wed 18 May 2022, 1:15 PM

A major sandstorm that has engulfed the UAE and other Gulf countries has not impacted air traffic at Dubai’s airports, an official confirmed on Wednesday.

The dust storm hit the country on Tuesday, blanketing cities and reducing visibility to less than 500 metres in some areas of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

A Dubai Airports spokesperson said there has been “no impact on operations at Dubai International airport (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC).”

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The UAE’s National Center of Meteorology (NCM) predicted hot and dusty weather for Wednesday as well. According to the forecast, blowing dust will impact horizontal visibility at times during the day on Wednesday.

A severe sandstorm earlier disrupted flight operations at Kuwait airport, causing air travel delays.

In a statement issued on Monday, Kuwait airport announced the closure of its airspace due to low visibility.

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Jamal al Hai, Deputy CEO of Dubai Airports, earlier said Dubai International is on the right track, having retained its position as the world’s busiest international airport with 29.1 million passengers. Just last week, it announced its busiest quarter since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the UAE and worldwide, hitting the global aviation industry.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com