Dubai and Sharjah International disrupted by drone activity

Dubai International and Sharjah International were closed to traffic for more than an hour on Saturday night after another drone incident.

Dubai Airports said the airspace around Dubai International was shut between 7:25pm and 8:45pm due to unauthorised drone activity.

This resulted in the diversion of 22 inbound flights, while at least eight were also affected at Sharjah International because the two share flight paths.

Services were stopped at 8pm in Sharjah before resuming at 9pm.

Some flights were diverted to Dubai World Central as a result with passengers reporting being stuck on the tarmac for hours.

It was the second disruption to services due to drone activity at Dubai International in roughly a month.

On September 28, the airport was closed from 8:08am to 8:35am resulting in similar delays.

Read: Dubai International closes airspace because of drone activity

The airspace around Dubai International was also closed for more than an hour in June because of drone activity.

Read: Dubai briefly shuts airspace after unauthorised drone activity

Dubai Civil Aviation Authority introduced no-fly zones for drones earlier this year following a similar incident in 2015.

Each minute Dubai International’s airspace is closed is said to cost the local economy $1m.

Read: Dubai sets no-fly zones for drones