Drone strike hits fuel tank near Dubai Airport grounding flights

Flights from Dubai Airport were suspended for several hours overnight after a drone attack caused a fuel tank to burst into flames.

Images from the scene show thick smoke reaching into the sky in the early hours of this morning.

Dubai’s Civil Aviation Authority announced the temporary suspension at around 1.30am ‘as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all passengers and staff’.

Several planes were diverted to Al Maktoum International Airport, southwest of the city.

Shortly after 6am, Dubai Airports confirmed in a post on X that flights to and from the hub were ‘gradually resuming to selected destinations’.

It said: ‘Please check with your airlines for the latest updates regarding your flights.’

Almost all arrivals for the rest of the day have been delayed or given a new time, according to information on the airport’s website.

Dubai International is the busiest airport in the Middle East and the busiest in the world for international passenger traffic.

Last year, 95.2 million people passed through the hub, and numbers were predicted to approach 100 million in 2026.

However, the war in Iran has had a significant impact on travel in the region.

British Airways announced earlier this month it would not run flights to or from Dubai – one of its most popular destinations – until at least the end of March.

In a post on social media, the airline said the decision was taken due to ‘the continuing uncertainly of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability’.

Within hours of the war beginning on February 28, a missile hit Dubai Airport injuring four people and damaging a concourse.

A further four people were injured last Wednesday when two drones fell in the vicinity of the airport.

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