While Emirates flight EK10, flying from London to Dubai, was cruising over Saudi Arabia, news of a drone attack on its destination, Dubai, was received.
The plane then returned to Gatwick Airport. According to flight data, a total round trip of approximately 9 thousand 100 kilometers was made.
According to Reuters news Similarly, approximately 30 Emirates flights heading to Dubai International Airport were turned away or diverted to different routes due to Iranian drone attacks.
Passengers are confused
Table of Contents
Passengers waiting for morning landing in Dubai were greatly surprised by the sudden route changes. In a post on social media, a passenger said, “I needed to wake up as we were approaching Dubai,” and shared a map showing his plane turning back near Cairo and heading towards Dublin.
The era of “flights to nowhere”
This situation, called “flights to nowhere” on social media, has become one of the most striking consequences in the aviation industry of the US-Israel-Iran tension that started on February 28.
Such turnarounds, in addition to rising fuel costs, stranded passengers and ever-changing flight routes, have increased the challenges airlines face.
Emirates confirmed that some flights were returning to their origins or nearby hubs, but did not share details.
Airspace closures continue
In the early days of the conflict, most of the Gulf airspace was closed and air traffic in the region came to a near standstill.
Although Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and flydubai have restarted many flights, sudden route changes continue to occur from time to time due to drone and missile threats.
The United Arab Emirates briefly closed its airspace again on Tuesday.
Long deviations in flights
Many Emirates flights en route to Dubai from Europe and India between 01.40 and 02.00 GMT on Monday decided to turn back via Saudi Arabia or the Arabian Sea.
One of the London flights, which normally reaches Dubai in less than 7 hours, returned to its starting point after a total flight of 11.5 hours.
Some flights were diverted back to Madrid, Lisbon and Paris.
Alternative routes came into play
Some planes close to their destination were diverted to different cities with long deviations.
Flights from New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and Moscow landed in Cairo, Karachi, Dhaka and Islamabad.
While two planes departing from Dallas and Toronto were diverted to Italy, planes from Lusaka, Dhaka and Johannesburg either landed at intermediate points or returned.
Flight EK9875, departing from Shanghai, reached Dubai after a total flight of 11 thousand kilometers and 20 hours, including a stopover in Bangladesh.
Thousands of flights were canceled
Emirates has shifted many of its flights to alternative destinations such as Dubai World Central, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and Muscat, instead of Dubai International Airport.
Additionally, regional centers such as Jeddah, Cairo and Medina were also activated. It was stated that Emirates has canceled more than 2 thousand flights since February 28, and this number corresponds to 54 percent of planned flights.
In the same period, the cancellation rate was recorded as 93 percent at Qatar Airways and 79 percent at Etihad.
Regional crisis grows
On the other hand, according to data, a total of approximately 30 thousand flights to Middle East airports were canceled as of March 17.
Experts point out that if conflicts in the region continue, disruptions in air traffic and pressure on global aviation may increase.
Source: Newspaper Oxygen
