Dubai: Dubai’s flagship airline Emirates has restored its regular flight schedules as of Saturday, April 20, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark said in an open letter to airline passengers.
“As of this morning, Saturday April 20, our regular flight schedules have been restored. Passengers previously stranded in the airport transit area have been rebooked and are enroute to their destinations,” said Clark.
“It will take us some more days to clear the backlog of rebooked passengers and bags, and we ask for our customers’ patience and understanding,” he said.
The airline has also put together a taskforce to sort, reconcile, and deliver some 30,000 pieces of left-behind baggage to their owners, said Clark.
On Tuesday April 16, the UAE experienced its highest rainfall in 75 years. Lashing storm winds and rain disrupted activity across the cities and the past week has been one of the toughest for Emirates operationally, as record storms hit the UAE.
“Our 24/7 hub in Dubai remained open, with flight movements reduced for safety, but flooded roads impeded the ability of our customers, pilots, cabin crew, and airport employees to reach the airport, and also the movement of essential supplies like meals and other flight amenities,” said Clark.
400 flights cancelled in 3 days
Clark offered his most sincere apologies to every passenger who has had their travel plans disrupted during this time.
“We diverted dozens of flights to avoid the worst of the weather on Tuesday, and over the next 3 days we had to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay many more, as our hub operations remained challenged by staffing and supply shortages,” he said.
