Emirates, Air France, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Swiss, Flydubai, And Other Airlines Hit By Cancellations As Weary Passengers Caught In Travel Turmoil At Dubai, Bahrain, And King Khalid Airport

Published on September 5, 2025

Emirates, Air France, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Swiss, FlyDubai, and respective different carriers were forced to cancel and hold flights coming arsenic dense rainfall battered nan Gulf region, creating wide recreation turmoil that near weary passengers stuck astatine Dubai, Bahrain, and King Khalid airports; nan upwind chaos turned 3 of nan Middle East’s busiest hubs into overcrowded holding grounds wherever visitors and business travelers alike faced hours of uncertainty, missed connections, and disrupted plans.

Severe rainfall has caused monolithic recreation disruption crossed nan Gulf region today, pinch 187 flights delayed and 9 flights cancelled astatine 3 of nan Middle East’s busiest airports — Dubai International, Bahrain International, and King Khalid International successful Riyadh. Major airlines including Emirates, Air France, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Swiss, FlyDubai, Gulf Air, and others were forced to hold aliases cancel flights, leaving thousands of passengers waiting for hours, galore of them visitors caught successful limbo during nan highest recreation season.

For galore travelers, nan downpours meant agelong queues, missed connections, and sleepless nights astatine departure gates. The airports, usually known for seamless connections, alternatively turned into hubs of disorder and vexation arsenic hose unit scrambled to negociate nan mounting backlog.

Dubai International Airport: The Epicenter of Delays

Dubai International, nan world’s busiest hub for world traffic, was nan hardest hit. The airdrome recorded a staggering 146 delays and 3 cancellations successful a azygous day. Carriers crossed nan spectrum, from world giants to location airlines, felt nan impact.

Among nan airlines disrupted astatine Dubai:

• Emirates suffered 37 delays, astir 7% of its schedule, underlining really moreover nan flagship bearer could not flight nan upwind chaos.
• FlyDubai had 38 delays, astir 10% of its operations, alongside 1 cancellation.
• Air India reported 9 delays pinch 40% of flights affected, while SpiceJet logged 9 delays pinch a higher disruption complaint of 42%.
• IndiGo, a cardinal low-cost player, saw 10 flights delayed.
• International airlines including Air France, China Eastern, Cathay Pacific, Swiss, Aeroflot, and Mahan Air were each forced into astatine slightest partial disruption.
• Regional carriers specified arsenic Gulf Air recorded 4 delays pinch 25% of its schedule impacted, while Kam Air and Yemenia had afloat cancellations connected individual flights.

Passengers astatine Dubai described terminals packed pinch weary travelers, galore of whom were holidaymakers trapped betwixt connections, incapable to scope their destinations. With dense rainfall causing waterlogging adjacent runways, operations slowed to guarantee safety, further fueling nan hold backlog.

Bahrain International Airport: Heavy Strain connected Gulf Air

Across nan waters, Bahrain International Airport besides suffered nan brunt of nan storm. The airdrome recorded 19 delays and 3 cancellations. Here, nan nationalist bearer Gulf Air took nan largest hit:

• 3 cancellations successful 1 day.
• 14 delays, astir 9% of its full flights.

Other disruptions included:

• FlyDubai pinch 2 delays (25% of operations).
• Air Arabia besides facing 2 delays (25%).
• Even Emirates was not spared, pinch 1 delay astatine Bahrain.

The business near galore business and leisure passengers marooned successful lounges, forced to hold for rescheduled flights. Reports indicated that rebooking was challenging arsenic nan large wind had caused ripple effects crossed nan Gulf.

King Khalid International Airport Riyadh: Saudia and Flynas Impacted

At King Khalid International Airport successful Riyadh, nan disruption extended into Saudi Arabia’s capital. The airdrome recorded 22 delays and 3 cancellations.

Key hose impacts included:

• Gulf Air again, pinch 2 cancellations (20% of its schedule).
• Saudia, nan nationalist carrier, managed 5 delays, though cancellations were limited.
• Flynas, Saudi Arabia’s fund airline, faced 8 delays — astir 4% of its flights.
• Etihad Airways and EgyptAir each logged delays, alongside Badr Airlines, Nile Air, and Pakistan International Airlines.
• Qatar Airways besides had a delayed flight, showing nan wide location impact.

For passengers walking into aliases retired of Riyadh, nan time brought uncertainty, pinch galore visitors caught successful recreation gridlock arsenic airlines juggled rescheduling while facing craft positioning challenges owed to earlier Dubai delays.

The Numbers Behind nan Distruption

When combining totals from nan 3 airports, nan disruption paints a stark picture:

• Total delays: 187
• Total cancellations: 9

This breakdown makes it clear that Dubai International bore nan worst of nan storm, but ripple effects were felt crossed Bahrain and Riyadh arsenic well. The figures item really a azygous upwind arena tin paralyze not conscionable 1 airport, but an full location aviation network.

Passenger Impact: Tourists Trapped successful Transit

While statistic uncover nan scale, nan quality broadside of nan communicative is what genuinely underscores nan disruption. Thousands of passengers — from families connected vacation to business executives — recovered themselves grounded, marooned, and stuck successful limbo.

At Dubai, holidaymakers en way to Europe, South Asia, and Africa missed onward connections, forcing galore to campy overnight wrong terminals. At Bahrain, queues stretched agelong arsenic Gulf Air passengers scrambled to unafraid scarce rebooking slots. In Riyadh, stranded travelers described emotion cut off arsenic hotels adjacent nan airdrome filled quickly owed to abrupt demand.

Why Heavy Rain Hits So Hard successful nan Gulf

While nan Gulf is known for utmost heat, abrupt dense rains often trigger chaos. Airports successful nan region, though modern, tin acquisition impermanent waterlogging connected taxiways and apron areas. This slows crushed handling, increases turnaround times, and requires airlines to abstraction retired departures and arrivals for safety.

The latest large wind underlined really moreover world-class hubs for illustration Dubai, designed to grip tens of millions of passengers annually, tin grind to a adjacent halt erstwhile faced pinch utmost weather.

What This Means for Travelers

For those flying successful aliases retired of nan Gulf, nan connection is clear: expect nan unexpected during seasonal storms. Travelers caught successful today’s delays were advised by airlines to enactment updated done apps and SMS alerts. Some carriers offered edifice accommodation, while others handed retired nutrient vouchers arsenic delays stretched into hours.

Practical tips for early travelers include:

• Always let agelong layovers erstwhile connecting done Gulf airports during seasonal upwind changes.
• Keep basal items successful manus luggage successful lawsuit of overnight waits.
• Monitor hose apps intimately for unrecorded updates.
• Consider recreation security that covers delays and cancellations.

Airlines crossed Dubai, Bahrain, and Riyadh are now moving overtime to clear nan backlog. With 187 delayed flights successful 1 day, rescheduling crews, aircraft, and passengers will return time. Aviation analysts pass that knock-on effects could past 24 to 48 hours, particularly for long-haul flights.

Emirates, Air France, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Swiss, FlyDubai, and different awesome airlines faced cancellations aft dense rainfall swept crossed nan Gulf, leaving passengers caught successful recreation turmoil astatine Dubai, Bahrain, and King Khalid airports.

For passengers, patience will beryllium tested. For airlines, nan large wind serves arsenic yet different reminder of nan fragility of moreover nan astir precocious aviation systems erstwhile upwind intervenes.