Operations at Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest, remain severely "delayed and disrupted" as heavy rains continue to batter the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its neighbouring countries. Punekars, who were about to travel to the desert nation, are also facing problems.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Pavneet Singh, a passenger who was on her way to Dubai with a group of 14 to attend a two-day blockchain conference, said, "We had booked our tickets a month prior and arrived at the Pune Airport after hearing from colleagues in other cities that, despite recent disruptions, flights to Dubai were still departing, albeit with some delays."
"I am aware of the situation in Dubai, but it seemed that conditions were improving and flights were operating with some delay. When we reached the airport at 6pm, we were initially informed that the flight would depart as planned. Staff checked in our luggage and completed immigration. However, at 7:30pm, we were informed that the flight had been cancelled," Singh added.
Jatin Sharma, another passenger, said he was continuously checking weather updates in Dubai. "All flights were landing safely at Dubai airport. We reached Pune airport around 5:30pm. We regularly contacted the airlines to see if anything was happening or not. An official said everything was on time and there was no delay in flight timings. One hour before departure time, the staff suddenly announced that the flight had been cancelled due to bad weather. I am not sure what really happened."
"It was very expensive for us because we had booked a ticket of ₹80,000 per person to attend the Fintech conference in Dubai on April 18 and 19. And the ticket prices are not refundable," he added.
Over 200 passengers who had booked the flight faced a similar situation.
Meanwhile, Poonam Deshpande, a user on X (formerly Twitter), mentioned that senior citizens from Pune are stranded at the Dubai airport.
"Parents (all senior citizens travelling with Kesari Tours from #Pune) stranded at the airport for more than 20 hours now. No updates on the next flights. No communication from the @emirates team. No communication from Kesari Group," she wrote.
