Several airlines cancel Dubai flights on Thursday

Several airlines including Indian carriers Spice Jet, Indigo and Jet Airways have cancelled all their flights to and from Dubai on Thursday because of limited operations at the Dubai International Airport.

The Dubai airport is operating with one runway following the crash-landing of Emirates flight EK521 from India on Wednesday afternoon.

“After the resumption of departure operations at 1830 hours [non Wednesday, August 3], Dubai Airports has now commenced arrival operations at DXB under restricted capacity. DXB is operating with one runway, with arriving flights being given priority over departures,” a statement on the airport operator’s website says.

To avoid inconvenience we urge all passengers to check with their airlines for latest flight updates before leaving for the airport.

— Dubai Airports (@DubaiAirports) August 4, 2016

Indian airline Indigo messaged on Twitter that all its flights to and from Dubai are cancelled for the day.

“Please tweet us or call us at +91 9910383838/+91 124 6613838 for assistance,” it advised passengers.

Spice Jet also confirmed that it will not be operating to Dubai on Thursday.

“Apologies for the inconvenience. All to/from Dubai flights stands cancelled for today,” it said on Twitter.

Meanwhile Jet Airways also urged passengers flying to Dubai to check their flight schedules.

While it has cancelled all its flights to and from Dubai for August 4, it will be operating additional flights to and from Sharjah.

Flight 9W 528 from Kochi will leave to Sharjah at 11.30am and arrive at 2.00pm with the return flight 9W537 departing at 3.00pm and arriving at 8.30pm.

Also, flight 9W 546 from Delhi to Sharjah will depart at 1.45pm and arrive at 4.00pm.

Meanwhile flydubai also announced that there will continue to be delays and cancellations as the airport is currently operating with one runway. It has cancelled the following flights on Thursday –

FZ013/FZ014 Dubai(DXB)-Doha(Doha)-Dubai(DXB)
FZ017/FZ018 Dubai(DXB-Doha(Doha)-Dubai(DXB)
FZ201/FZ202 Dubai(DXB)-Erbil(EBL)-Dubai(DXB)
FZ221/FZ212 Dubai(DXB)-Baghdad(BGW)-Dubai(DXB)
FZ731/FZ732 Dubai(DXB)-Ashgabat(ASB)-Dubai(DXB)

“If your flight has been cancelled, you can receive a full refund to your original form of payment, or you can change your booking to the next available flight without additional charge,” the airline said.

Emirates has also partially resumed flights but passengers are urged to check on its website to reconfirm their flight schedule.

Flight EK521, operating from the Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai with 300 people onboard, crashed while landing at around 12.45pm on Wednesday. All the passengers and crew members are safe, but one firefighter lost his life while tackling the blaze after the accident.

Read more: Firefighter dies during Emirates’ plane crash at Dubai airport