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The scene at Dubai International Airport yesterday was chaotic with frustrated passengers queuing up at the check in area frantically seeking information about their flights. "Can you please tell me where exactly the queue starts? I am on my way to Heathrow. Do you have any idea whether the flight is on time, cancelled or delayed?" Mathew Philips asked this reporter. Operations staff from the Department of Civil Aviation were seen assisting passengers eager to get concrete information. "Three Emirates flights have been cancelled. These are flight EK-009 to London Gatwick scheduled at 14.30, flight EK-037 to Birmingham that was scheduled at 15.45, and another flight to Doha. "Announcements on the same have also been made ... Flights of some other airlines have also been delayed," said Ahmad Ebrahim Ahmad of the Protocol Department of DCA's Public Relations Office. An official statement issued by Dubai International Airport yesterday said that the airport was not hit by the sudden disruption of power supply. Mohammad Ahli, Director of Operations Room at the department, said: "We had no major disruptions. Some areas such as baggage handling and check-in formalities were switched to manual sorting." He, however, said that no flights were delayed or cancelled. He said the airport has its own generators that were switched on from 10.20am until 12.30pm, when power supply was restored. "I am going to Gatwick and have been waiting here with bags and baggage for about an hour. Now we are told that the flight has been cancelled. I want somebody to tell us when the next available flight is," said Bessy George, an Indian.  Karl Jeffs/Gulf News Long queues and what seemed like an indefinite wait were the order of the day at Dubai International Airport. |  |
"There is so much confusion around. They announced that nine flights have been delayed. I am standing here for more than an hour. I am on my way to Mumbai by EK 502. "The flight was scheduled for 1.30pm. I am now told that it will take off only at 7.30pm. Passengers though have been provided with food and water. But the air-conditioning is also not running at full blast," said Esmail Mohammad. Tracy, who was on her way to Manchester, said: "Can you tell me when will the power supply be restored? Please don't let us wait until we get to read all about it in the newspaper the next morning!" "I have checked in my baggage and have not got my boarding pass yet. I checked with one of the airport officials and they asked me to wait. There is so much of rush and confusion," said Vinita A. "The scanning of baggage was halted and then done manually for a while, and that led to a huge crowd," she said. "Right now I want some airport official to tell me exactly how long will we have to wait ... Will there be alternative flights?" asked Wilfred, who was on his way to Gatwick.
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