Dubai's sluggish return to 'normality': Planes gradually hit runways again but ... trends now
Dubai is making a sluggish return to normality as planes gradually begin to hit runways again, but cars have remained stranded in deep waters as the city struggles to get to grips with the recent flooding crisis.
This week's devastating flash floods, which have now killed 20 people in Oman and one in the UAE, plunged Dubai into a living nightmare as shops and buildings were crushed to ruins and vehicles were forced to be abandoned as they became submerged in murky waters.
Emirates, Dubai's state-owned flagship airline, and sister carrier flydubai resumed check-ins after telling passengers to stay away on Wednesday, when thousands of delayed passengers clogged the airport.
Authorities at Dubai International Airport, which handles more international passengers than any other, said on Thursday that they had started receiving inbound flights at Terminal 1, used by foreign carriers, but that outbound flights continued to be delayed.
They later announced that check-in was open at Terminal 3 for Emirates and flydubai flights.
Passengers wait for their flights at the Dubai International Airport as several flights have been resumed
Passengers check flight information on screens at Dubai International Airport this morning
Footage from Tuesday on the inside the airport - the world's busiest for international travel - showed passengers sleeping on the floor as they waited for flights out of the country
Although the city is returning to some level of normalcy in the skies, cars remain submerged in deep waters on the once busy roads
Vehicles were left abandoned after the flash floods hit, and remain drowned in water
The airport hopes to resume 'something approaching normality' within 24 hours, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told AFP.
Some 1,244 flights were cancelled and 41 diverted on Tuesday and Wednesday, after torrential rains flooded the Middle East financial centre including its homes, malls and offices, and highways.
Over the past three days, the airport has witnessed chaotic scenes with crowds of marooned travellers clamouring for information about their flights.
At the start of the floods, footage and images taken by stranded travellers showed people camping out on the airport waiting room floors as they were desperate for shelter from the harsh, freak weather.
Hundreds of passengers complained they were not allowed to leave the building due to the dangers of the flooding as the waters crashed past the airport carrying cars and other debris swept off the streets.
Even as Emirates and flydubai resumed check-ins, more than 200 departures were listed as delayed or cancelled on the airport's website.
Airport authorities say that the staff are facing difficulties to get food to stranded passengers as all the roads leading to the airport are blocked by flood waters.
'Getting supplies through, people and all of the necessary things to the airport to help the schedule recover, was a massive challenge because all of the roads were blocked,' Griffiths said.
