Abu Dhabi airport in chaos again

Abu Dhabi airport in chaos again
By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS
Published: November 19, 2007, 15:47

Dubai/Abu Dhabi: Fog played havoc with flight schedules at Abu Dhabi International Airport for another day yesterday.

The runways at the UAE capital's airport were shut down from midnight to 10am due to a blanket of fog that cut visibility to 100 metres.

It was the seventh day in a row with fog at the airport and the eighth day of fog there this month, but Dubai and Sharjah International Airports escaped.

Yesterday morning 11 inbound flights to Abu Dhabi were diverted to Al Ain while 43 outbound services were delayed and at least four were cancelled.

The morning disruption caused a build-up of delayed flights that put schedules out of kilter for the rest of the day.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways announced yesterday it was rescheduling all flights due to arrive at or depart from the capital's airport between midnight and 8am today.

The airline did this as a precautionary measure in case there was more thick fog at the airport this morning - as forecasters were predicting. Seven Etihad flights were rescheduled to ensure that no aircraft was timetabled to arrive or leave between midnight and 8am this morning. For example, services from Toronto and New York due to arrive at 2am were brought forward and were due to land before midnight.

Flights from Geneva and Munich originally set to land in Abu Dhabi before 8am were put back so they would not land during the time when fog was most likely.

In addition, eight Etihad flights due to leave this morning to destinations including Kuwait, Karachi, Jakarta, Muscat and Johannesburg were cancelled, the airline announced yesterday.

A spokesman for Etihad said the company was contacting passengers to inform them of the changes.

"We are not leaving the passengers stranded. The key is to get everything back to order," he said.

Dubai and Sharjah International Airports remained open throughout yesterday as visibility never fell below 2,000 metres.

Dubai-based Emirates said its operations returned to normal on Sunday following the severe fog at its hub airport on Saturday morning. A spokesperson said the airline offered free meals and hotel accommodation to passengers affected by disruption.

Clive Stevens, duty forecaster at Dubai International Airport, said there was a possibility of fog this morning.

"It's very humid at the moment so I don't see why we shouldn't have a high risk of fog. It's gone on for such a long time," he said.

- With inputs from Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter