A number of flights from Doha to Dubai on various airlines have been pushed back or canceled altogether today after this afternoon’s crash landing at Dubai International Airport (DXB).
That includes Qatar Airways, Emirates and FlyDubai.
On their websites, all three have advised of cancelations and delays for the time being after DXB announced that all operations have been temporarily suspended.
DXB will resume departure operations starting 18.30 UAE local time with larger aircraft given first priority.
— DXB (@DXB) August 3, 2016
All 282 passengers and 18 crew members onboard the Boeing 777-300 survived the incident, but a firefighter was killed as fire crews tackled the blaze that followed, the CEO of Emirates said.
The announcement come after Emirates Flight EK521, which was traveling from Trivandrum International Airport in India to Dubai, encountered an “operational incident” when flying into DXB early this afternoon.
Wow this is a miracle. #Emirates plane after crash landing at #Dubai Airport and all passengers evacuated safely. pic.twitter.com/hTnsJlgThG
— Irish Dave (@iamirishdave) August 3, 2016
It is unclear if anyone on the flight was heading to Qatar. The majority of passengers on the plane had Indian passports, Emirates said in statement.
Delays
The UAE-based airline has said it expects a “network delay” of up to eight hours. On Facebook, it lists several canceled flights from India to Dubai.
There are also three canceled flights going through Doha:
- EK843/844: Dubai-Doha-Dubai DXB/DOH/DXB
- EK849/850: Dubai-Doha-Dubai DXB/DOH/DXB
- EK881/882: Dubai-Doha-Dubai DXB/DOH/DXB
Qatar Airways and FlyDubai have also advised travelers of potential delays, and to contact them for details.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Alex Macheras, a London-based aviation expert, said that the crash landing was unusual.
He added that “in terms of departures, those wishing to fly out of Dubai, well, I think they are in for a long wait.”
It’s possible that the delays in Dubai will have a knock-on effect in Qatar, as airlines scramble to re-route stranded passengers.
If that holds true, those who are traveling into and out of Doha today might expect longer immigration lines.
Thoughts?
Editor’s note: Story edited on August 4th to add details of the death of a firefighter in the incident