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'We're living on duty free' say tourists stranded in Dubai

24 hours ago
By Ruth Comerford,
BBC News

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EPA Men push a car through flood water in UAEEPA
Tourists stranded in Dubai's major airports say they are "desperate for food" and
are running low on water as floods cause disruption and chaos in one of the world's
busiest transport hubs.

Passengers who have spoken to the BBC say they have been waiting for hours at
Dubai's two major international airports, with little information or support
provided to them.

About 290 flights to and from Dubai International Airport on Wednesday have been
cancelled, according to Flight Aware data at 21:00 GMT (22:00 BST).

There have been a further 440 delayed flights, the data showed.

It comes after record rainfall caused floods in Gulf states, leading to the deaths
of 20 people.

'Our only food is duty free'

James and Elizabeth Devine, from Cambridge, have been stuck at the wrong connecting
airport in Dubai with their six-month-old son after their flight back home from a
wedding in Sydney was diverted.

It landed at Dubai World Central Airport, more than 80km (40 miles) away from their
intended destination, Dubai International Airport.

Mr Devine, a 30-year-old software engineer, and Mrs Devine, a 29-year-old primary

school teacher, are part of a party of nine from the UK. They've been "living on
duty free" and say water is in short supply.

"The restaurants are closed," Mr Devine said. "The only food we have is from duty
free so it's like they haven't provided any food for infants or young children,
there's no nappies, so we're like handing-off nappies to people."

The weather conditions have forced Dubai International Airport - the world's second
busiest - to divert dozens of inbound planes and cancel a number of flights.

"We are currently experiencing significant disruption due to the weather and are
continuously working with our emergency response teams and service partners to
restore normal operations as quickly as possible," it said on X, formerly Twitter.
Emirates, a major international airline headquartered in Dubai, has suspended
check-in for passengers departing from Dubai until Thursday, due to "operational
challenges" caused by the bad weather.

James Devine Elizabeth and James Devine stranded at Dubai World Central Airport
with their son ThomasJames Devine
Elizabeth and James Devine have been stranded at Dubai World Central Airport with
their son Thomas since early Wednesday morning
Despite the chaos, the couple said passengers have kept arriving at the airport.

"We are all stuck in this poorly resourced airport," Mr Devine said, "there are
hundreds if not thousands of people here".

"They had to open duty free so we could eat some food but it's running out."

'System has fallen apart'

Andrew and Kate Golding navigated "floating cars" to get inside Dubai International
Airport and have now been there for 12 hours.

"I'm trying to get on another flight," Andrew, 62, told BBC News. "My wife, Kate is
standing in another queue as we're trying to hedge our bets."

The couple from Kent were on holiday to celebrate Kate's 60th birthday, a trip
Andrew says she will now "never forget".

Kate and Andrew Golding Kate and Andrew GoldingKate and Andrew Golding
Kate and Andrew Golding joined separate queues in a bid to improve their luck
"It has been worse I think than anyone expected, but the system within the airport
has completely fallen apart and Emirates, which I consider to be one of finest
airlines - no staff, no information, no coordination, no professionalism, no care -
no disaster planning at Emirates, it's weird - big companies normally plan for
these events."

"It's been total chaos."

"People are sleeping in the lounges, on the floors, food packets everywhere. It's
just been a pretty filthy experience really."

BBC News has contacted Emirates for comment.

'Passengers shouting'
Elsewhere at the airport, Anne Wing, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is with her
husband and three children hoping to fly to London Heathrow.

They arrived at the airport at 08:00 local time (04:00 GMT) for their 11:25 flight,
and were initially told it had been delayed by an hour.

"We have spoken to no-one from Emirates since 08:00 this morning," she said.

"Passengers were shouting and rioting at the connection desk, there were no staff
to be seen."

Anne Wing Queues at Dubai International AirportAnne Wing

The situation at Dubai International Airport feels out of control, passengers say,
as queues build
"Its horrific, we are squashed in like animals - it is dangerous and inhumane," she
added.
"Its absolutely ridiculous here".

She said her family haven't eaten since lunch time, and all that has been provided
are some "small cartons of water".

James Devine Passengers keep arriving at the World Central airportJames Devine
Elizabeth and James Devine say passengers are still arriving at the World Central
airport
'We've been here for 13 hours so far'
Margaret McArthur, 73 and her husband Derek, 75, from Monifieth near Dundee in
Scotland, are in Dubai for a two-day stopover and were supposed to be heading on to
Tokyo today.

They were due to fly from Dubai International Airport on Wednesday morning but
their flight was delayed and hours later, they still haven't been given an
alternative flight.

"We meant to fly at 07:50 this morning, and we have been at the airport since
06:15," Mrs McArthur said.

"We have been here for 13 hours so far. No food and had only a coffee. There are no
facilities where we were told to stay."

Margaret and Derek McArthur take a selfie while waiting at the international
airport
Margaret and Derek McArthur were supposed to be travelling to Tokyo on Wednesday
morning
The couple say they are "desperate for food" and that no vouchers have been issued
to passengers.

"We don't know what is happening," Mrs McArthur said, adding that communication
with their airline has been poor.

'Pitch black and apocalyptic'

Matt Weir is a teacher in Dubai and has lived there for 10 years.

He said it was mid-afternoon on Tuesday when he noticed a large, ominous cloud

stretching across the sky.

"At 3pm the sky went pitch black and apocalyptic - that's when I took that picture
of the sky as I saw the storm come in," he told the BBC.

Teacher Matt Weir captured the sky just before the storm erupted
Teacher Matt Weir captured the sky just before the storm erupted
The cloud's appearance was followed by torrential rain: "When I got back to my
house it looked like I'd just got out of the bath".

Since then, Mr Weir said "Dubai has been left under water - some places are a good
metre and more under water, thousands of houses are completely flooded."

Mr Weir said his home was unaffected, but "my neighbours' house just two doors down
is totally flooded."

"There are also collapsed roads with cars fallen through... A lot of the shopping
malls have completely leaked too."

Footage from the centre of Dubai shows dozens of submerged vehicles on a flooded
part of Sheikh Zayed Road, as well as long traffic jams elsewhere on the 12-lane
highway.
1:15
WATCH: Heavy rain causes flash flooding in Dubai
Mr Weir said that though menacing clouds had been superseded by blue skies by
Wednesday, "so much is still under water and infrastructure has collapsed".

On Tuesday the UAE experienced its largest rainfall event since records began 75
years ago.

The National Centre of Meteorology announced that 254.8mm (9.7in) had fallen on
Khatm al-Shakla, in the emirate of al-Ain, over less than 24 hours.

The country averages 140-200 mm of rainfall per year, while Dubai typically
receives only 97mm. The monthly average for April is only about 8mm.

The heavy rain also hit Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Dubai airport chaos as Gulf reels from deadly storms

Did cloud seeding cause the Dubai flooding?
Many factors contribute to flooding, but a warming atmosphere caused by climate
change makes extreme rainfall more likely.

The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and
temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts
to emissions.

Additional reporting by Rozina Sini, James Kelly, Andrée Massiah and UGC

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Did cloud seeding cause the Dubai flooding?

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