Dubai airport passengers say they just want to go home after flash floods ground planes

Record ID: 1819194

  • Title: Dubai airport passengers say they just want to go home after flash floods ground planes
  • Date: 17th April 2024
  • Summary: DUBAI, UAE (APRIL 17, 2024) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SIGN READING (Arabic and English) DEPARTURE PEOPLE QUEUEING AHEAD OF CHECK-IN VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING SIGN READING (Arabic and English) CHECK-IN VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING AT CONNECTION DESK PEOPLE USING CHECK-IN MACHINES DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL BOARD VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING DUBAI, UAE (APRIL 17, 2024) (REUTERS) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 39-YEAR-OLD PASSENGER FROM INDIA, KANISH KUMAR DEB BARMAN, IN PHONE INTERVIEW , SAYING: "I'm flying from Paris. Dubai is our layover, where we were supposed to connect to another flight, which was supposed to take us to Kolkata, India. There are hundreds and thousands of other passengers just like me in this airport who have been waiting for ten hours, 16 hours, some even for 24 to 30 hours. It's not raining outside. The weather is clear. It's sunny. Water-logging - the water level has gone down." DUBAI, UAE (APRIL 17, 2024) (REUTERS) PEOPLE SITTING WAITING DUBAI, UAE (APRIL 17, 2024) (REUTERS) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 39-YEAR-OLD PASSENGER FROM INDIA, KANISH KUMAR DEB BARMAN, IN PHONE INTERVIEW, SAYING: "We are, uncertain about what's in the near future, whether we will be able to go home, whether we will be able to have some rest, I don't know. We are - people are just lying around in the airport. There is not enough seats and chairs to, you know, let them sit even. They are sitting on the floors." DUBAI, UAE (APRIL 17, 2024) (REUTERS) PLANES ON TARMAC SEEN THROUGH WINDOW DUBAI, UAE (APRIL 17, 2024) (REUTERS) (ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT) (AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 39-YEAR-OLD PASSENGER FROM INDIA, KANISH KUMAR DEB BARMAN, IN PHONE INTERVIEW SAYING: "I'm not able to get through (to his family back home), I'm not able to get through. It's a totally difficult situation. I want to go home." DUBAI, UAE (APRIL 17, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LONG QUEUES OF PASSENGERS AT AIRPORT VARIOUS OF PLANES ON TARMAC FILMED FROM MOVING VEHICLE FLOODED ROAD VARIOUS OF FLOODING AT PARKING LOT OF THE 'GLOBAL VILLAGE'
  • Embargoed: 1st May 2024 12:37
  • Keywords: AIRPORT FLOODING UAE WEATHER
  • Location: DUBAI, UAE
  • City: DUBAI, UAE
  • Country: UAE
  • Topics: Climate Change,Environment,General News,Middle East,Government / Politics,Climate Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001586417042024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: QUALITY AS INCOMING
    There were rows and rows of stranded passengers at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday (April 17) waiting for new flights after major delays and cancellations caused by heavy rains.
    Some were waiting on the floor for more than 24 hours, a stranded passenger said at one of the world's busiest airports with some airlines cancelling flights going through Dubai until the weather in the UAE improves.
    "We are working hard to recover operations as quickly as possible in very challenging conditions," the airport wrote on X.
    "We are, uncertain about what's in the near future, whether we will be able to go home, whether we will be able to have some rest, I don't know. We are - people are just lying around in the airport. There is not enough seats and chairs to, you know, let them sit. They are sitting on the floors," said software engineer, Kanish Kumar Deb Barman, who was flying back with his wife from Paris.
    The UAE witnessed a record rainfall with 254 mm falling in Al Ain on Tuesday in less than 24 hours, according to the national meteorology center. That was the most since records began in 1949, before the country was established in 1971.
    Authorities and communities across the United Arab Emirates were clearing debris on Wednesday (April 17) after the torrential downpour which killed at least one person and caused damage to homes and businesses.
    Although heavy rains had eased by late Tuesday, disruptions were continuing on Wednesday with Emirates airline suspending check-in for passengers departing Dubai airport until midnight.
    Passengers departing for Dubai were advised against heading to the airport and to check their flight status with their airline.
    UAE media and social media posts showed significant damage in parts of the country from the torrential downpour, including collapsed roads and homes inundated by water.
    One of Dubai's main highways, the Sheik Zayed Road, was partially flooded, leaving people stuck in traffic for hours.
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