A powerful winter storm sweeping the north-eastern United States has forced Dubai-based Emirates to cancel or retime multiple New York flights, impacting hundreds of UAE-bound and outbound travellers. In an advisory updated at 10:18 on 27 December, the airline said JFK-Dubai flight EK202 departed five hours early, while EK206 (JFK-Milan-Dubai) left three hours ahead of schedule. Athens–Newark sectors on EK209/EK210 were cancelled outright.
The move highlights how distant weather events can disrupt mobility programmes centred in the Gulf. Corporate travellers with rigid meeting windows in Dubai now face unexpected layovers or must scramble for re-routing via European hubs. Travel managers have been advised to check interline options through Frankfurt, Zurich and Paris, where seat availability remained above 30 % on Saturday morning, according to Amadeus data.
Emirates has offered free re-booking and urged passengers to update contact details in Manage Your Booking to receive SMS alerts. The carrier also reminded customers that US ESTA or visa validity must cover any revised transit dates—an often overlooked detail when trips shift by 24 hours.
![Emirates cancels and reschedules New York services as US snowstorm ripples into UAE itineraries]()
Travellers needing urgent document updates can streamline the process through VisaHQ, whose online platform provides rapid assistance for both UAE and U.S. travel authorisations. Step-by-step tools, live support and same-day processing options help ensure ESTA amendments or UAE visa applications are filed correctly even when itineraries change at the last minute. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/.
For UAE exporters the timing is awkward: end-of-year high-value shipments such as luxury retail and fresh seafood that rely on EK cargo holds may miss Boxing-Day retail windows in Manhattan. Freight forwarders in Jebel Ali Free Zone reported switching perishables to Etihad’s EY101 Abu Dhabi–JFK, which remained on schedule at press time.
With US meteorologists forecasting up to 25 cm of snow and gusts of 50 km/h through 28 December, further disruption is possible. Mobility teams should therefore keep contingency accommodation on hold in both Dubai and New York and ensure that employees have proof of travel insurance covering weather-related delays.
The move highlights how distant weather events can disrupt mobility programmes centred in the Gulf. Corporate travellers with rigid meeting windows in Dubai now face unexpected layovers or must scramble for re-routing via European hubs. Travel managers have been advised to check interline options through Frankfurt, Zurich and Paris, where seat availability remained above 30 % on Saturday morning, according to Amadeus data.
Emirates has offered free re-booking and urged passengers to update contact details in Manage Your Booking to receive SMS alerts. The carrier also reminded customers that US ESTA or visa validity must cover any revised transit dates—an often overlooked detail when trips shift by 24 hours.
Travellers needing urgent document updates can streamline the process through VisaHQ, whose online platform provides rapid assistance for both UAE and U.S. travel authorisations. Step-by-step tools, live support and same-day processing options help ensure ESTA amendments or UAE visa applications are filed correctly even when itineraries change at the last minute. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/.
For UAE exporters the timing is awkward: end-of-year high-value shipments such as luxury retail and fresh seafood that rely on EK cargo holds may miss Boxing-Day retail windows in Manhattan. Freight forwarders in Jebel Ali Free Zone reported switching perishables to Etihad’s EY101 Abu Dhabi–JFK, which remained on schedule at press time.
With US meteorologists forecasting up to 25 cm of snow and gusts of 50 km/h through 28 December, further disruption is possible. Mobility teams should therefore keep contingency accommodation on hold in both Dubai and New York and ensure that employees have proof of travel insurance covering weather-related delays.
