Flights delayed for hours as thick fog hits Dubai

Passengers face severe disruption at the start of a busy holiday weekend at the city's airport

Emirates has said that flights have been disrupted by fog in Dubai.

A number of flights from Dubai International Airport are facing major delays after the emirate was hit by a blanket of thick fog.

Passengers are battling major disruption on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year at the terminal, with some flights halted for several hours.

Emirates said it expected more than 42,000 passengers to jet off on its flight to kick off the spring holidays on Friday.

But a string of the airline's flights have been grounded due to low visibility caused by fog that has blighted Dubai in recent days.

Emirates sent out a tweet on Friday morning notifying travellers that fog was causing disruption to flight times.

A flight to Nairobi, due to take off at 6.55am on Friday, was delayed until at least 10.40am, while passengers flying to Kuwait face a wait of four hours before finally boarding.

A string of other flights, to destinations including Heathrow in London, Seattle in the United States and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia also face significant hold-ups.

“Fog in Dubai on 29 March 2019 has caused the delay of some Emirates flights arriving at and departing from Dubai International," said an Emirates spokesperson.

"Customers are requested to check their flight status on emirates.com for the latest information regarding their flights. Emirates apologises for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance and will not be compromised."