Long-haul carrier Emirates has again suspended local check-in for passengers on its flights as the United Arab Emirates continues to recover from record-breaking rainfall this week.
The airline said the suspension would last throughout Friday and into early Saturday. "This is to support operations recovery from the recent bad weather at our Dubai hub," Emirates said in a statement on social media.
Low-cost carrier FlyDubai has also seen some disruptions. Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, is hoping to be back on a normal schedule within 24 hours, its chief executive said late Thursday. The UAE, a nation on the Arabian Peninsula, typically experiences little rainfall in its arid desert climate.
However, a massive storm that forecasters had been warning about for days swept through the country's seven sheikhdoms. By the end of Tuesday, more than 142 millimeters (5.59 inches) of rainfall had soaked Dubai over 24 hours. An average year sees 94.7 millimeters (3.73 inches) of rain at Dubai International Airport.
Other areas of the country saw even more precipitation. Meanwhile, intense floods also struck neighboring Oman in recent days. On Thursday, authorities raised the death toll from those storms to at least 21.