The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi has operationalised emergency helpline numbers for affected passengers: +971501205172; +971569950590; +971507347676 and +971585754213. The advisory comes following the disruption caused by unprecedented weather conditions in the UAE earlier this week because of which DXB “has temporarily limited the number of inbound flights.”
“While the UAE authorities are working round the clock to ensure normalisation of operations, the situation is unprecedented. Airport authorities have advised that passengers may travel to the Airport
ONLY AFTER
final confirmation from the respective airlines regarding the departure date and time of the respective flights,” the embassy said.
While announcing temporary suspension of check-ins for transfers, Emirates said Friday: “Passengers already in Dubai and in transit will be accepted on their flights. Customers travelling to Dubai as their final destination may check-in and travel as usual. Customers can expect delays to departures and arrivals and are advised to check the latest flight status here http://emirates/flightstatus.”
“Impacted customers should contact their booking agent or Emirates Office for rebooking options. Emirates extends our sincerest apologies to impacted customers who have experienced delays and disruption to their travel plans. We appreciate how difficult it is for everyone affected. Our teams are working hard to restore our scheduled operations as soon as possible,” the airline added.
Emirates is the largest foreign airline in terms of operations to and from India. On a standalone basis, it is the third largest airline for flying passengers in and out of India after IndiGo and Air India. DGCA data shows in October-December 2023 India had 1.7 crore international passengers (arriving and departing) of which Emirates carried 8.1% or roughly 13.8 lakh. So on an average over 15,000 people fly Emirates daily between Indian cities and DXB, with a significant number of them being transiting via Dubai International.
Flights to and from Dubai — the biggest aviation hub for Indian globetrotters outside the country — are badly impacted with the UAE receiving its heaviest rainfall in last 75 years since late Monday. India has about 75 flights per day to Dubai that are operated by its and UAE carriers, say travel industry sources. Apart from point-to-point travellers, Dubai also sees a lot of transfer traffic between India and rest of the world on Emirates’ flights.