Heavy winter fog blanketed Dubai in the early hours of 20 November, sending visibility at Dubai International Airport (DXB) below 200 metres and forcing air-traffic control to divert 19 inbound flights to Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Dammam. Between 04:00 and 09:00, aircraft circled for new slots while ground handlers scrambled to accommodate passengers.
Airport operator Dubai Airports said it was working "in close coordination with airlines, control authorities and all airport partners to stabilise the operation as quickly as possible." Emirates and flydubai reassigned transit passengers to later connections and distributed meal vouchers at Terminal 3; some travellers reported delays of up to four hours. Cargo schedules were also affected, with time-critical perishables rerouted to Al Maktoum International (DWC).
![Dubai Fog Disrupts Operations: 19 Flights Diverted From DXB]()
The incident is the first major disruption of this year’s fog season. DXB, the world’s busiest hub for international passengers, handles around 250,000 travellers and 1,100 aircraft movements daily, so even short-lived diversions can ripple across global networks. Mobility managers should expect lingering knock-on delays over the weekend as aircraft and crew rosters are repositioned.
Travel-risk teams are advised to remind employees to allow extra transfer time, monitor airline apps for gate changes and check revised baggage-re-check rules for disrupted itineraries. Companies shipping perishables or pharma products through DXB should confirm that cold-chain integrity was maintained during rerouting.
The episode underscores the need for contingency plans during the UAE’s December–February fog window, when sudden drops in temperature over desert terrain frequently impair visibility.
Airport operator Dubai Airports said it was working "in close coordination with airlines, control authorities and all airport partners to stabilise the operation as quickly as possible." Emirates and flydubai reassigned transit passengers to later connections and distributed meal vouchers at Terminal 3; some travellers reported delays of up to four hours. Cargo schedules were also affected, with time-critical perishables rerouted to Al Maktoum International (DWC).
The incident is the first major disruption of this year’s fog season. DXB, the world’s busiest hub for international passengers, handles around 250,000 travellers and 1,100 aircraft movements daily, so even short-lived diversions can ripple across global networks. Mobility managers should expect lingering knock-on delays over the weekend as aircraft and crew rosters are repositioned.
Travel-risk teams are advised to remind employees to allow extra transfer time, monitor airline apps for gate changes and check revised baggage-re-check rules for disrupted itineraries. Companies shipping perishables or pharma products through DXB should confirm that cold-chain integrity was maintained during rerouting.
The episode underscores the need for contingency plans during the UAE’s December–February fog window, when sudden drops in temperature over desert terrain frequently impair visibility.
