Dense fog sweeping across the United Arab Emirates has disrupted flight operations at Dubai’s two main airports, Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC), triggering cancellations, diversions and delays that have rippled through airline schedules and travel plans. The adverse weather struck in the early hours of Tuesday, February 10, leading to significantly reduced visibility, a red fog alert from forecasters, and a challenging start to the day for passengers transiting one of the world’s busiest international aviation hubs.
Fog Disruption Hits One of the World’s Busiest Hubs
Dubai Airports confirmed that operations at both DXB and DWC were affected from the early morning period as dense fog blanketed parts of the emirate. Flight movements had to be adjusted under low-visibility procedures, slowing the pace of arrivals and departures. While airports in the Gulf are accustomed to operating in hot, clear conditions, winter fog is an increasingly prominent seasonal hazard, particularly during the cooler months from December to February when temperature inversions and high humidity converge.
According to statements from Dubai Airports carried by local media, the weather disruption on February 10 led to the cancellation of 12 flights and the diversion of 23 inbound services away from Dubai’s runways. In total, around 35 flights were reported as affected across the two airports, indicating that the operational impact, though relatively contained in duration, was significant enough to cause knock-on delays across airline networks. Air traffic controllers were forced to carefully space aircraft movements to maintain safety margins while visibility hovered at only a few hundred metres in some locations.
Dubai International, consistently ranked among the world’s top airports for international passenger traffic, is especially vulnerable to even modest interruptions because of the density of its schedule. Aircraft typically arrive and depart in tightly packed waves to feed connections for major carriers such as Emirates and flydubai. When fog prompts diversions and cancellations, the resulting gaps and misalignments can take many hours to clear, particularly for long-haul operations where aircraft and crews must remain in regulatory compliance on duty times.
Scope of Cancellations, Diversions and Delays
The confirmed figure of 12 cancellations reflects flights that could not operate at all into or out of Dubai during the worst of the fog. These may include services where inbound aircraft were unable to reach Dubai and instead landed at alternate airports, or outbound flights where either operational restrictions or unavailability of the incoming aircraft led to a scrubbed departure. Airlines typically weigh fuel, diversion risks, crew duty limits and airport slot constraints before deciding whether to delay or cancel.
The 23 diversions indicate flights that were already en route to Dubai when weather conditions deteriorated and were redirected to other airports in the region. Possible alternates include Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International, Sharjah International, and airports in neighbouring Gulf states. Once an inbound flight diverts, the airline must coordinate refuelling, ground handling and eventual repositioning of the aircraft back to Dubai, often with the same passengers on board after a lengthy wait on the ground. This, in turn, delays subsequent flights that aircraft was scheduled to operate.
In addition to the officially reported cancellations and diversions, many other flights experienced delays, some of them substantial, as ground handlers and air traffic controllers worked through the backlog once the fog began to lift mid-morning. Even after visibility improves, it can take several hours before the flow of arriving and departing aircraft stabilises. Connecting passengers, in particular, may miss onward flights, prompting rebookings that strain remaining seat capacity on popular routes.
Passenger Experience: Missed Connections and Long Waits
For travellers passing through Dubai on February 10, the consequences of the dense fog ranged from minor inconveniences to major disruptions. Those on point-to-point flights might have faced only a short delay on departure or arrival. For transfer passengers, particularly those on tight connections, the impact could be more severe. Missed onward flights can cascade into lost hotel nights, rescheduled meetings and altered itineraries in far-flung destinations.
Airlines operating from DXB and DWC issued advisories urging passengers to check flight status before leaving home and to allow extra time for check-in and security formalities, particularly once operations began to recover and queues lengthened. Some carriers have offered rebooking options without additional fees for those whose travel was directly affected, though the specifics depend on the fare rules and the extent of the delay or cancellation.
Inside the terminals, airport authorities and airlines deployed additional staff to assist stranded travellers with new reservations, hotel vouchers where applicable, and guidance on re-entering the transit system. For long-haul routes, re-accommodating passengers is not always straightforward. Many flights operate close to full capacity in peak winter travel periods, so finding available seats on the same day can be challenging. As a result, some travellers may need to spend an extra night in Dubai or at their diversion point before they can continue their journeys.
Safety First: Why Airports Slow Down in Fog
Despite the frustration caused by disrupted plans, aviation and meteorology experts stress that such measures are crucial for safety. Dense fog dramatically reduces runway and taxiway visibility for pilots and ground vehicles, and even with sophisticated ground radar and instrument landing systems, there are limits to the level of traffic that can be handled safely. At certain thresholds of reduced visibility, airports must activate low-visibility procedures, which include increasing separation between arriving and departing aircraft and limiting ground movements.
In Dubai, air traffic controllers and pilots rely on precision instrument approaches certified for low-visibility operations. Aircraft and crews must be specially qualified for these procedures, which enable landings when visibility is far below visual-flight conditions. However, not all airlines and aircraft meet the most stringent categories, and even when they do, taxiing and gate operations can remain slow and complex in thick fog. The cumulative effect is a reduced capacity for the airport, with fewer flights able to land and take off per hour.
The National Centre of Meteorology in the UAE issued red and yellow alerts as visibility dropped sharply across parts of Dubai and neighbouring emirates, advising both motorists and air travellers to exercise caution. These alerts are designed not only for aviation professionals but also for the wider public, prompting drivers to reduce speed and authorities to implement temporary safety measures on roads. The coordination between meteorologists, civil aviation regulators and airport operators is central to deciding when to curtail or resume normal traffic flows.
Impact Across the UAE’s Wider Transport Network
The foggy conditions that affected DXB and DWC were part of a more extensive weather pattern stretching across much of the UAE, including Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates. Road traffic on key intercity highways slowed considerably as police enforced reduced speed limits and urged drivers to maintain safe distances. Several minor accidents were reported, underscoring the hazards of driving too fast or using inappropriate lighting during low-visibility events.
Sharjah International Airport, another important regional gateway, also faced weather-related challenges during this period. Local authorities there and at other airports around the country issued advisories encouraging travellers to track their flights closely and consider extra travel time to and from terminals. Although Dubai’s two airports bore the brunt of the February 10 disruptions, the entire aviation and logistics ecosystem in the UAE felt the knock-on effects, as cargo operations, regional connections and ground transport adjusted to the unexpected slowdown.
For inbound tourists whose itineraries include tight multi-city schedules across the UAE, such weather disruptions can compress sightseeing time or force last-minute changes in hotel bookings and excursions. Travel agents and tour operators often step in to rearrange ground transport and activities, but availability of guides, vehicles and popular attractions can be constrained when changes occur on short notice.
Advice for Travellers Transiting Dubai During Fog Season
For international travellers using Dubai as a gateway, the latest episode of dense fog offers several practical lessons. First, during the UAE’s winter months, it is prudent to build in buffer time for connections, particularly if you are arriving early in the morning when fog is most likely to form. Booking slightly longer layovers can provide a margin for rebooking in case an inbound flight is delayed or diverted. This is particularly important for long-haul travellers needing to catch onward flights to remote destinations with limited daily frequencies.
Second, opting for flexible or changeable tickets, where budget permits, can reduce the stress and potential costs of rearranging travel plans if your flight is impacted by weather. Many airlines provide more accommodating rebooking policies when disruptions are clearly caused by meteorological conditions. However, travellers should still read fare conditions carefully and consider purchasing travel insurance that explicitly covers weather-related delays and missed connections.
Third, keeping a close eye on flight status via airline apps, SMS alerts or airport information channels is essential on mornings when fog is forecast. Travellers are frequently advised not to proceed to the airport until they have verified that their flight is still operating as scheduled, especially if they live some distance from Dubai or need to cross busy highways where visibility may also be reduced. For those already in transit or connecting through Dubai, staying in touch with airline staff and monitoring departure boards can help identify alternative routes if a connection is missed.
How Dubai Airports and Airlines Are Responding
Dubai Airports has stated that it is working closely with airlines and service partners to minimise disruption and restore normal operations as quickly as possible whenever adverse weather strikes. This includes coordinating with air traffic control, ground handling companies, immigration authorities and baggage services to ensure that the reduced number of flights that do operate can do so as smoothly and safely as conditions allow.
Airlines based in Dubai, such as Emirates and flydubai, generally maintain detailed contingency plans for fog events, given that they recur each winter. These plans may involve pre-emptively adjusting flight departure times, rerouting aircraft, and pre-positioning crews to ensure they remain within duty limits. When fog events are forecast with some confidence, carriers will sometimes arrange for additional staff at call centres and airport desks, anticipating an influx of passenger inquiries and rebooking requests.
On the customer communication front, airlines are increasingly using mobile notifications and social media channels to update passengers in real time. Travellers can assist this process by ensuring their contact details are up to date in their booking and by downloading relevant apps before travelling. During the recent disruption, several carriers publicly acknowledged that they were cancelling, delaying or diverting flights due to the prevailing conditions and reiterated that safety remained their overriding priority.
Fog in the Gulf: A Growing Seasonal Challenge
Meteorological research in the UAE suggests that fog events have become more frequent and sometimes more persistent in recent decades, a trend some scientists associate with broader climatic changes. Warmer air can hold greater amounts of moisture, which, combined with clear skies and light winds overnight, can lead to the formation of thick radiation fog. In coastal desert environments like the UAE, where moist air from the Gulf meets cooler land surfaces before dawn, this can produce dramatic and rapid drops in visibility.
For the aviation sector, this evolution represents an ongoing challenge. Airports like DXB and DWC are investing in technology, procedures and staff training aimed at maintaining safe and efficient operations under a wide range of conditions. Advanced instrument landing systems, improved runway lighting, and real-time visibility sensors are part of the toolkit. Yet no level of technological sophistication can entirely eliminate the need to slow or halt flights when conditions fall below defined safety minima.
As fog season recurs each winter, travellers can expect that occasional disruptions will remain an unavoidable feature of flying into and out of the Gulf’s major hubs. However, the swift recovery of operations once visibility improves, combined with the extensive global networks of airlines based in Dubai, means that most passengers will ultimately reach their destinations, even if not always at the originally scheduled time. For those planning trips through the region, awareness, flexibility and a willingness to adjust plans on short notice remain the best defences against the unpredictable nature of dense fog over the desert.