Over 100 flights delayed, motorists struggle as thick fog blankets UAE

Traffic bottlenecks, accidents and flight delays reported due to thick morning fog in UAE

 

Dubai: Thick fog enveloped most part of the UAE Monday morning, causing traffic snarls and several flights delayed.

Motorists were seen struggling to find their way in the fog, even as more than 100 flights in the UAE's leading airports were delayed, based on data from Live Flights, an aviation tracker site.

Traffic bottlenecks and accidents were also reported in many parts of the country early on Monday. An accident was reported on Emirates Road on the Sharjah- Dubai area, triggering major traffic chaos.

At the Dubai International airport, about 100 flights encountered delay, leaving hundreds of departing passengers stranded. Disruptions lasted up to one hour to three hours on inbound and outbound flights.

Affected passengers include those headed for London, China, Qatar, South Africa and Iran, among other destinations. Some flights, including those bound for Bahrain and Heathrow were also cancelled as a result.

“Heavy fog is disrupting operations this morning at DXB resulting in delays of up to one hour on arriving and departing flights,” Dubai Airports announced.

“We are working with our partners to minimize passenger inconvenience.”

As of 11.20am, arriving flights from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China were experiencing delays. Affected carriers include Emirates, China Southern Airlines, flydubai, Qantas and Qeshm Airlines,

Departing flights bound for Doha, Mauritius, Heathrow, Guangzhou, Durban and Isfahan were likewise moved to about an hour to three hours later.  

“Emirates urges customers to check their flight status for the latest information regarding their flights. Emirates apologises for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance and will not be compromised,” a spokesperson said.

The national met agency warned of “poor visibility of less than 100 metres” on Abu Dhabi-Dubai roads, the Abu Dhabi western area, Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah.

Motorists have been warned to keep distance between vehicles and drive slower when the visibility is poor.

A met official at NCMS earlier told Gulf News that an increase in relative humidity overnight will help develop thick blankets of fog in most of the internal areas, including Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and the eastern parts.

“Chance of fog over land is quite high over the next two days, with wind heading from the sea, raising the level of humidity at night, so early mornings will be foggy by up to 80 to 90 per cent,” said a met official

According to the met official, the fog cover will be higher in the Western areas on Monday morning.

Strong north-westerly winds from Saturday night are also expected to make the sea choppy, with waves rising up to six feet offshore and up to four feet onshore.

Weather experts have cautioned beachgoers as both the Arabian Gulf and the Oman Sea are expected to be rough for the next two days.

An Emirates spokesperson told Gulf News in a statement that severe fog in Dubai on Saturday caused the cancellation and delay of numerous Emirates flights arriving and departing at Dubai International Airport.