Airports across the Emirates experienced an unusually disruptive morning on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, with scores of flights delayed or grounded at Dubai International (DXB), Dubai World Central (DWC), Zayed International in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah International. Data published by both Dubai Airports and airline reservation systems show services to more than 20 destinations—including Delhi, Kochi, Muscat, Tehran, Riyadh and multiple European cities—running anything from 45 minutes to eight hours behind schedule. While operational factors such as heavy early-morning fog contributed to the backlog, industry sources say the primary driver was a sudden tightening of air-space restrictions involving Iranian carriers. The US Treasury announced fresh sanctions on 36 entities linked to Iran’s aviation sector overnight, warning service providers they could face secondary sanctions. In parallel, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation temporarily suspended flights on certain routes, forcing carriers to re-route crews and equipment at short notice. Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia all confirmed isolated cancellations but stressed that the bulk of their networks remain intact. Nonetheless, passengers on SpiceJet, Pakistan International Airlines and Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways faced outright cancellations, and several inbound flights—from Minsk, Brisbane and Edinburgh, among others—were pushed deep into the afternoon. Airport authorities urged travellers to use airline apps for live information and to allow additional time for immigration formalities, as staggered departure banks ripple through terminal operations for the rest of the day. Travel-management companies told corporate clients to “build in an extra buffer of at least four hours” for time-sensitive business trips this week. For global mobility managers, the episode underscores the importance of real-time travel monitoring tools and duty-of-care escalation procedures when geopolitical risks intersect with flight operations.
Source: Gulf News
