Suspected drones disrupt Dubai flights
Flights at Dubai’s international airport, one of the
world’s busiest, were briefly disrupted on Sunday due to “suspected drone
activity,” officials said.
Two arriving flights had to be diverted, it said,
while media reports said the planes had landed at a smaller airport in the
neighboring emirate of Sharjah.
“Dubai Airports can confirm that flight arrivals
were briefly disrupted at Dubai International from 12:36 to 12:51 UAE local time this afternoon due to suspected drone activity,” a
spokesperson said in a statement Sunday.
Flights at the airport have been disrupted several
times in recent years by recreational drones, with the last incident occurring
in February.
However, the latest disruption comes after military
drones were used to stage attacks on Saudi Arabia, including last week’s
attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia last week
threatened to use military drones to strike targets in the United Arab Emirates,
which is a key partner in the Arab Coalition supporting the legitimate
government in Yemen.
