Over 170 Flights Delayed Across Dubai and Abu Dhabi Airports Amid Ongoing Travel Disruptions

More than 170 flights at Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s main airports experienced delays on Sunday, alongside two cancelled flydubai services connecting Dubai and Bahrain. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, 122 delays were recorded at Dubai International Airport and 51 at Zayed International Airport as of 3.30pm UAE time, with figures continuing to update throughout the day.

These latest schedule disruptions follow earlier travel complications during the week, which were impacted by issues such as a UK air-traffic control shutdown. While airlines have reported separate technical and weather-related incidents recently, direct causes for Sunday's individual delays were not explicitly established.

Flydubai confirmed that its FZ23 service from Dubai to Bahrain and the corresponding FZ24 return flight were cancelled, as listed by FlightStats. These affected flights are also sold by Emirates under the codes EK2016 and EK2017. FZ23 was originally scheduled to depart Dubai at 7.10am and arrive in Bahrain at 7.30am local time, while FZ24 was due to leave Bahrain at 8.30am and reach Dubai at 10.45am. Tracking records provided no specific reason for these cancellations, prompting flydubai to advise passengers to verify their flight status and operational updates before traveling to the airport.

At Zayed International Airport, Etihad Airways also reported some delays for flights departing Abu Dhabi on Sunday. FlightAware recorded 51 delays and zero cancellations at the facility by Sunday afternoon. Among the delayed arrivals was Etihad Airways flight EY654 from Kuwait, which landed in Abu Dhabi at 1.20pm—25 minutes behind schedule—after departing Kuwait 11 minutes late at 10.31am local time.

In separate travel updates, Etihad detailed several incidents impacting services on Friday and Saturday. The airline noted that Saturday’s EY237 flight from Bengaluru to Abu Dhabi was delayed and subsequently cancelled due to a technical issue, which also affected the return EY335 service via EY334 from Abu Dhabi to Kochi. Additionally, a Friday flight from Abu Dhabi to Atlanta was diverted to Charlotte because of adverse weather conditions at the destination, resulting in delays for the return service.

Airlines are urging travellers flying on Sunday to check their flight status directly with their carrier before heading to the airport and to closely monitor emails and text messages for real-time updates. In a travel advisory issued on September 8, Emirates advised customers to verify flight information and ensure their booking contact details remain current. Similarly, Etihad requested that affected passengers maintain accurate contact information to receive timely notifications via text message or email.