Passengers line up at the connecting counter at Dubai International Airport in Dubai on April 17, 2024.
Afp | beautiful images
Dubai Airports' chief executive said on Friday he expected services to return to “near normal” within 24 hours after the major transit hub was hit by unprecedented flooding.
The United Arab Emirates has spinning to the left caused by floods the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in a desert state. Airlines, banks and transport links all face major disruption.
“We've never seen anything like this,” Griffiths told CNBC's “Capital Connection” on Friday.
“We expect that within the next 24 hours, there will be a significant improvement in the schedule that we can say is very close to normal levels,” he added.
The airport's chief executive said it was too early to put a figure on the financial impact of the disruption caused by the flooding that began Tuesday. However, he confirmed that the company, which owns and operates Dubai International Airport, had approved an emergency budget to provide food and water to stranded passengers, noting that all Retail stores are currently operating normally.
“Right now, we are putting all our efforts into operations so we haven't even begun to calculate,” he said. The most important thing is that we take care of our customers.”
Dubai International, one of the world's busiest airports and a gateway to the Middle East, has become bogged down chaos in recent days, with thousands of frustrated travelers stranded in terminals after flights were suspended.
Some flights resumed on Thursday and Griffiths said the airport was working closely with airlines to clear the backlog and improve flight speeds. However, he noted that there are still restrictions, especially for arrivals.
Dubai Airports said on Friday that from midday local time it will temporarily limit the number of domestic flights for 48 hours.
“I am personally contacting all the management of the various airlines that serve DXB [Dubai International Airport]and we're trying to get more flights every hour,” he said.
“We put restrictions on the flow of passengers so that we don't take on more aircraft and we can accommodate every parking space and every facility at the airport is actually fully operational,” he added.
Dubai Airport urges passengers to exercise caution when traveling, check with airlines in advance to confirm flight status and not arrive at the airport too early.
“Our message really is that we are asking people not to come to the airport until up to two hours before their flight departs to give the airport a chance to recover,” Griffiths said.
