Dubai Airport Survives Unprecedented Rainfall - Emirates Airlines President Writes Apology Letter

Dubai has maintained its tourism growth momentum with 5.18 million international overnight visitors in the first quarter of 2024, marking an 11 per cent year-on-year increase. The data was released by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) at the 31st edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM), which opened today.

Underscoring Emirates’ commitment to boost tourism inflows across its network, the airline has reaffirmed its strategic cooperation with Tourism Seychelles and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and has forged a new partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Emirates has pledged its renewed commitment with Tourism Seychelles, supporting the island’s efforts to promoting tourism and trade to the country. The MoU was signed by Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ SVP Commercial - West Asia & Indian Ocean, and Sherin Francis, Principal Secretary Tourism Department, Tourism Seychelles, in the presence of Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ Executive Vice President, Passenger Sales and Country Management.

Emirates is famed for its extravagant service onboard its current fleet of Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s. It’s therefore little surprise that expectations are high for its incoming A350s – an aircraft that has been years in the making.

Dubai, situated in one of the world’s driest regions, was hit with a second bout of heavy rains and strong winds this week — just two weeks after the desert metropolis was covered in a year’s worth of rain in the span of 12 hours. 

Air India’s new flagship has made its debut on the international stage. On Wednesday night, Flight AI995 departed Delhi for Dubai, operated by an Airbus A350-900 for the first time. 

Dubai’s ruler and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, today made a big announcement on social media platform X, declaring his approval of new passenger terminals at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), situated about 28 miles outside of Dubai. Construction is set to begin immediately.

Dubai is no stranger to building things and tearing them down, and one day, its global airport could meet the same fate.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, has inaugurated the landmark Dubai Reef project with the launch of the pilot reef modules.

Dubai confirmed Sunday it would be shifting its airport operations from the current Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport “within the next 10 years.”

Etihad Airways' beloved Airbus A380 has returned to the US after four years. It landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport just after 10 a.m. on Monday after a more than 14-hour trek from Abu Dhabi.

Inbound tour operators and travel providers based in Dubai, or international tour operators and other sellers offering Dubai products, may find that the worst is not yet over as the weather clears up in Dubai. TMU Management, the data-driven insurance intermediary specialising in travel, has today issued a warning to the travel trade they are very likely to see increases in rates when applying for Package Travel Regulation compliant insurance. Sami Doyle, CEO & Co-Founder of TMU Management, comments: “Who’d have thought that flooding could be an operational risk in the middle of a desert? Whilst this may technically be the worst rain in 75 years in the UAE, underwriters are unlikely to forget about that anytime soon. At this early stage it would be hard to say how much of an increase to expect, but for sure it won’t be going down when you mention Dubai. And it could easily go up enough to make sellers think twice when pricing future sales. Certainly we’d advise to expect a noticeable increase.”

Following days of chaos at Dubai International Airport, the head of Emirates Airline has published an open letter, offering his “most sincere apologies to every customer who has had their travel plans disrupted”.