Thick winter fog blanketing the lower Gulf this week culminated in the season’s worst disruption on 10 December, when flight-tracking portal FlightAware logged 1,310 delays and seven cancellations across the region. Dubai International Airport (DXB) bore the brunt with 310 delayed departures and two cancellations, forcing Dubai Airports to reactivate its peak-season contingency plan. From 11 December, officials urged all passengers to arrive at least three hours before take-off, use online check-in and register for Smart-Gate biometric clearance to ease pressure on immigration counters.
Airlines scrambled to protect tight December schedules. Emirates and flydubai retimed dozens of European rotations to recover aircraft and crew, while Etihad funnelled connecting passengers through Abu Dhabi to avoid missed onward sectors. Corporate travel managers for engineering projects in Saudi Arabia and Qatar extended layovers or switched personnel to Sharjah and Muscat to keep site hand-overs on track.
![Winter fog snarls Gulf air traffic: 1,310 flights delayed, DXB imposes three-hour rule]()
Logistics headaches rippled far beyond passenger movements. Couriers reported customs cut-off times changing at short notice as cargo flights were re-sequenced, while perishables exporters from Africa paid premium rates to reroute shipments to Riyadh. Mobility advisers warned assignees to double-check that Schengen or transit visas remained valid after involuntary itinerary changes, because many e-permits carry fixed entry windows.
To ease those last-minute visa challenges, travellers and mobility teams can tap VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/), which provides real-time entry requirement checks, rush application services for the UAE and onward destinations, and doorstep courier pick-ups for passport stamping—often within 24 hours. Having a fast, reliable service on call can turn a fog-induced reroute into a manageable hiccup rather than a costly delay.
With DXB poised to handle more than 300,000 passengers a day through year-end, authorities caution that sporadic fog could trigger more rolling delays. Travellers are encouraged to enable airline app notifications, pre-clear passports for Smart-Gate use and keep contingency funds for unexpected overnight stays. Firms moving time-sensitive cargo or samples have been advised to shift to road or sea freight until weather stabilises.
Airlines scrambled to protect tight December schedules. Emirates and flydubai retimed dozens of European rotations to recover aircraft and crew, while Etihad funnelled connecting passengers through Abu Dhabi to avoid missed onward sectors. Corporate travel managers for engineering projects in Saudi Arabia and Qatar extended layovers or switched personnel to Sharjah and Muscat to keep site hand-overs on track.
Logistics headaches rippled far beyond passenger movements. Couriers reported customs cut-off times changing at short notice as cargo flights were re-sequenced, while perishables exporters from Africa paid premium rates to reroute shipments to Riyadh. Mobility advisers warned assignees to double-check that Schengen or transit visas remained valid after involuntary itinerary changes, because many e-permits carry fixed entry windows.
To ease those last-minute visa challenges, travellers and mobility teams can tap VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/), which provides real-time entry requirement checks, rush application services for the UAE and onward destinations, and doorstep courier pick-ups for passport stamping—often within 24 hours. Having a fast, reliable service on call can turn a fog-induced reroute into a manageable hiccup rather than a costly delay.
With DXB poised to handle more than 300,000 passengers a day through year-end, authorities caution that sporadic fog could trigger more rolling delays. Travellers are encouraged to enable airline app notifications, pre-clear passports for Smart-Gate use and keep contingency funds for unexpected overnight stays. Firms moving time-sensitive cargo or samples have been advised to shift to road or sea freight until weather stabilises.
