Fog disrupts UAE airports; Dubai cancels 20 flights: Click for latest delays, cancellations, diversions

Foggy conditions in the early hours on Thursday and the backlog of delayed flights from Wednesday resulted  in the cancellation of 20 flights at Dubai International Airport. With weather conditions returning to normal by 10am, no flights were diverted on Thursday, according to a statement issued to Emirates 24/7 by Dubai Airports. Dubai Airports is working with airlines and control authorities to minimise inconvenience  to customers and to ensure resumption of normal operations at the airport. Dubai-based budget carrier flydubai reports six flight cancellations for January 24. Flydubai flights departing for Djibouti and Baghdad have been cancelled as per Dubai Airports update, while morning arrivals from Tbilisi, Kabul, Doha, along with afternoon’s Karachi flight have all been scrapped. Flydubai's Flight FZ215 to Baghdad, which was to leave at 1.55pm, has been delayed by about five and a half hours and is expected to leave at 7.30pm. Flydubai's flight FZ047 to Muscat, scheduled for 7.20pm, was cancelled.The carrier's Flight FZ 205 to Sulaymaniyah, which was to leave at 7.30pm, has been called off. Air India's Flight AI956 to Mumbai, which was to leave at 5pm, is now expected to take off at 7pm. Emirates continues to show delays from this morning, with its 10.30am departure to Jakarta, Indonesia being pushing to 1pm. The Asian sector recorded further delays with Emirates’ flights arriving from Islamabad, Lahore, Mumbai and Doha, all posting delays of minimum 1.5 hours. Another day of fog disruption saw passengers parked at Dubai Airport with their luggage, as several flights faced delays in the morning hours of January 24. Dubai Airport’s website reported on six delays with Emirates alone in the early hours, with flights to Madrid, Lagos, Doha, New York and Cairo reporting delays by approximately 1.5 hours. Air India’s Flight AI 957 from Mumbai has been delayed and was expected to arrive at 6pm. Syrian Arab Airlines Flight RB 515 from Damascus was delayed and was expected to reach at 4.35pm. Two flydubai flights from Dhaka and Chittagon were cancelled, according to the web site of Dubai Aiport. flydubai arrivals from Bahrain and Kuwait were delayed about half a hour. The two flights were expected at 5.45pm and 5.20pm respectively. Jet Airways flight from Mumbai was delayed and was expected to land at 5.40pm. Shaheen Air's flight from Peshawar, scheduled to land at 5pm, was delayed and was expected at 5.40pm. The Emirates flight from Cairo, which was expected at 5.45pm, has been delayed by about an hour, according to the airport web site. Meanwhile,  Abu Dhabi International Airport didn’t fare any better, with the capital recording delays across several flights departing, several more cancelled; while arrivals in the morning hours saw several carriers being diverted to Sharjah and Al Ain airports. Flights to Dammam, Saudi Arabia took the first hit this morning with Etihad Airways, scrapping its flight in the early hours. Etihad’s flights to Chicago, New York, Johannesburg, Beirut, Jordan, Bangkok and Cairo have also recorded delayed departures. The arrivals scene was just as chaotic, if not more, with several early morning flights being diverted, including two Mumbai arrivals, Etihad Airways/Jet Airways codeshare and Oman Air, that landed in Sharjah. Meanwhile, Air India’s Mumbai arrival, AI945, was delayed by seven hours. The Etihad/Jet codeshare from Kozhikode, along with Air Berlin from Munich, finally landed post delays at Al Ain International Airport. Also, the Dammam arrival remains cancelled for Etihad and it’s codeshare partners. Passengers are advised to call the airport to check on their flights before leaving home. The fog in the recent days has caused significant delays to some flights departing from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. However, an Emirates spokesperson on Wednesday said that despite delays, there have not been any cancellations “Flights EK846 from Doha and EK136 from Venice were diverted to Muscat due to the weather conditions,” the spokesperson added. Three flights from Chicago, one by Etihad, one by Srilankan and one by American Airlines, all of which were schedueld to arrive at 7.40pm, have been delayed and are now expected at 8.30pm Etihad Airways' Flight EY012 from London Heathrow, which was scheduled to arrive at 8pm, has been delayed by about two and a half hours. Five flights from Paris have been delayed. All of them, which were to arrive in Abu Dhabi at 20.40 hours, are now expected to reach at 21.20 hours, according to the Abu Dhabi Airport web site. The carriers are Air France, American, Etihad and Virgin Australia. The Etihad flight from Cairo, whose scheduled arrival is at 22.15hours, has been delayed and is now expectd at about 23.40hours. About departure, airblue's Flight PA431, which was to leave for Lahore, at 13.00 hours, has been delayed and is now expected to take off at 20.15 hours. Five flights to Muscat, all at the scheduled time of 21.30 hours, have been pushed back by about an hour. The carriers are Aer Lingus, Virgin Australia, Air Berlin, Alitalia and Etihad. Five flights to Bahrain, scheduled for 21.40 hours, have been delayed by a little more than an hour. The carriers are Aer Lingus, Alitalia, Air Berlin, Virgin Australia and Etihad. All flights to Sydney have been delayed by about 40 minutes. Three flights to Nagoya via Beijing have been delayed by an hour. Emirates 24/7