Emptier than usual scenes from Dubai airport
World
Emirates and Etihad Airways were resuming limited flight schedules to key global cities on Friday, though threat of missile fire piled pressure on airlines as they scramble to accommodate travellers
(Reuters) – Passengers were seen waiting for flights at Dubai International Airport on Friday as travel disruptions affected routes across the region amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Emirates and Etihad Airways were resuming limited flight schedules to key global cities from their United Arab Emirates hubs on Friday, though the threat of missile fire piled pressure on airlines as they scramble to accommodate travellers.
As of Thursday, traffic at Dubai airport, normally the world's busiest, had almost doubled from Wednesday, but remained only about 25% of normal levels, flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said.
Dubai-based Emirates said late on Thursday it was operating a reduced flight schedule to 82 destinations including London, Sydney, Singapore and New York until further notice, and customers transiting in Dubai would only be accepted if their connecting flight was operating.
The limited operations at Middle Eastern hubs have hit travellers on routes from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region particularly hard.
