Cameras captured the moment a drone struck the runway at the Dubai International Airport, forcing authorities to suspend operations for a brief period on Saturday as the US-Iran war in the region entered day 8.
The video circulating on social media showed a large plume of smoke after a loud blast at the airport. The UAE authorities said that an object was intercepted by air defence over the area.
Watch it here:
The video, which HT cannot independently verify, was also posted by Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera.
Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic, said it had suspended operations on Saturday after the incident.
“For the safety of passengers, airport staff, and airline crew, operations at Dubai International (DXB) have been temporarily suspended. All procedures are being managed in line with established safety protocols,” the government’s Dubai Media Office said. Later, the airport announced it would partially resume services shortly after the suspension. “We have partially resumed operations from today, 7 March, with some flights operating out of DXB and DWC,” it said, referring to Dubai’s main airport as well as the city’s Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International Airport.
“Please do not travel to the airport unless you have been contacted by your airline that your flight is confirmed, as schedules continue to change,” it told passengers.
What the UAE government said
The UAE government said in a separate post that there had been “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception”, which caused no injuries.
“The air defences of the United Arab Emirates are currently responding to missile and drone threats coming from Iran,” the Emirati Ministry of Defence had said, without specifying the targets of the attacks.
The Flightradar24 tracking website earlier showed planes circling above the airport in an apparent holding pattern.
Flights from Dubai’s main airport had partially resumed on Monday despite daily drone attacks targeting sites in the United Arab Emirates.
Last Saturday, four employees were injured, and a terminal was damaged as war broke out in the Middle East following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Operator Dubai Airports said at the time that the incident had been “quickly brought under control”, without providing details.
Iranian attacks have also hit Abu Dhabi airport, the upmarket Palm Jumeirah development and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel, while drone debris caused a fire at the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday.
