Given the ongoing issues between Iran and Israel, we elected to abandon our planned trip to Jordan, in favour of safer destinations. Whilst Jordan was unlikely to be pulled into any subsequent conflict, we did not want to find ourselves stuck if they decided to close their airspace. So we opt for an early morning flight from Tajikistan to Dubai, and then a short hop from Dubai to Muscat.
What could possibly go wrong…
We have to be up at 4am for our flight. Unfortunately at 2am Jenn wakes up and is sick multiple times. Two hours later, it’s touch and go whether she will feel well enough to get on the flight. She decides to push on and see how she feels at the airport.
Looking white as a sheet, but improved, we decide to at least make the first leg to Dubai. We know that the problem is digestive rather than anything more untoward or contagious.
First leg of the journey goes without a glitch. Land and make our way through arrivals with the uber high-tech slickness that we have come to expect from Dubai International Airport. Literally takes minutes to get through automated gates at immigration, collect our bags, and re-enter departures for our next flight. It’s a model of operational efficiency.
Check-in is straight forward, security swift, and we find ourselves ensconced in an airport restaurant in record time. Why can’t more airports be this slick? Jenn is still feeling rough, but continuing to improve.
Board the plane on time, and I’m pleased to find a ready selection of films that I quite fancy watching. Shame it’s only a one hour flight. As they say, careful what you wish for…
We seem to be sat on the tarmac for an age. The rain gradually gets heavier and we are updated by the captain regularly about our status. Seemingly the bad weather is resulting in delays, but we are gradually making our way through the queue. Just as we reach our take-off slot, we are told that the airport is suspending operations owing to the storm. In fairness, it is pretty biblical outside, so not entirely surprised that flights are delayed.
By now I’m happily watching Wonka. Highbrow stuff! 😉
As the hours roll by, the airline decides to switch the crew. Presumably, they have worked longer than their legal shift. A new crew is found and we are ready to leave on the next available slot. At that point a passenger decides for whatever reason that they want to leave the plane. We are delayed as the police are called. Not entirely sure what the outcome is, but regardless, it means we miss our departure and have to queue again.
Next, they ask if there is a doctor on the plane. Resist the urge to raise my hand, as pretty sure that they don’t need any support with business administration! A lady is subsequently shepherded to the front of the plane, clearly feeling unwell.
Yet more hours pass. We are told the flight has been cancelled. Quel surprise!
A bus arrives to take us back to the terminal, but the staff decide that it is too dangerous to descend the steps in the rain! Questionable.
When challenged, we are told that we can leave if we choose, but unless the entire plane leaves, we will be sat on a bus instead of on the plane. Hobsons Choice. Jenn is keen to sit on the bus. As ever, it would have been a good call, as the bus subsequently returns to the terminal empty. I however, figured we were better of waiting on the plane. Means my viewing pleasure is interrupted for the next hour or so with Jenn feeling the need to remind me ‘that we should have got the bus’…
By now we have been on the tarmac for around 6 hours. Jenn has made her feelings known to the staff in no uncertain terms and we are offered one of only four seats on a transport back to the terminal, if we leave NOW! NB: Think they would have carried her off if it meant being rid of her.
We decide to take the proffered transport. Feel a tad guilty as we leave the plane, but most of the other passengers, for whatever reason seem quite content to wait. Perhaps they are watching Wonka. There is at least 3 inches of standing water as we wade to the terminal. Impressive!
We have been booked on a flight the following morning at 7am. Our luggage will be transferred by the airline. So only hand luggage to deal with. Result.
The airline informs us that all hotels are full. They will try and find us something, but could take hours, and there are no promises. Brilliant!
We do a quick Google search and find a room within minutes. Left to wonder why it’s so hard for the airline staff to do the same thing. This is not our first rodeo though, and we know better than to rely on the stressed airline staff.
On our way through arrivals it is very clear that the storm has been worse than we thought. The infrastructure has clearly not been designed for the amount of rain it has received.
Once in arrivals we find that there are no Ubers, no taxis, and the only practical way of leaving the airport is via bus to a metro station. Our hotel is a manageable walk away from a station, so seems like a reasonable plan.
On the roads it becomes apparent that there are bigger issues here than just the chaos at the airport. The roads are completely flooded, with several feet of water covering the tarmac, and already there are a good number of cars that have been abandoned on the roads.
We arrive at the metro, buy tickets, and board a train. One stop later we are told the train is not in service. Brilliant! Staff have no idea when, or if, the metro will be operational again.
Exit the station to find the pavements and roads flooded in all directions. No taxis, no metro, no buses. No choices.
We remove shoes and socks and start wading through the flood water. Majority of locals are doing the same, although they at least are wearing sandals. Bare foot not a great idea in dark flood water.
Our hotel is an unachievable distance away. Pot holes in the dark make it pretty treacherous. Conditions are getting worse not better, so Jenn makes the executive decision to stop at the first hotel we come across. We pay a premium for the room, but who cares? By now it is 10pm. We’ve tried planes, trains, and automobiles during our 18 hour journey. Remember, all of this is against a backdrop of Jenn not feeling well!
Set the alarm for 4am again, in the hope, rather than the expectation, that we might fly next morning.
Sure enough when the alarm goes off at 4am, we check and find that the flight has been cancelled. We are dully rebooked on a flight at 14.35. Back to sleep.
When we wake there are no comms. Literally none. Can’t get through to the airline – no great surprise. Equally, there are no communication banners on Dubai International Airport’s webpage, and no one in the hotel has any idea which way is up.
I have a friend in Dubai who keeps me informed with local news. Seems that 10 inches of rain have fallen in 24 hours, resulting in conditions not seen in over 70 years. Of course, Dubai was a damn-sight smaller back then. Third party video footage is impressive.
Ironically, from the window of our hotel, all looks relatively calm. Aside from major roads being closed. The sky is blue.
Decide that we should try and make our way to the airport, not least because if we have our luggage, we have options. Also, it seems the only way to get any reliable info. Our flight stills shows with the airline website as leaving on time. Hmmm.
No cabs running. We are advised to walk to the metro and get closer to the airport before walking. Walk back along the path we took the night before. Looks somewhat different! What a difference a day makes.
Arrive at said metro to find it is closed. Brilliant!
Airport is less than three miles away. My view, is push on through to the airport. Jenn has other ideas, but reluctantly agrees. I am now in the danger zone, we are following my plan, against Jenn’s advisement.
Quickly becomes apparent that this is not going to be easy. Although parts of Dubai look fine, others are under water. The only way through is to wade.
In fairness, the water, for the large part, is clear enough to see where one is treading. So we keep going. The kindness of strangers is a mixed blessing. Lots of advice about best ways to walk. Invariably, the local advice results in us meeting an unpassable point, turning back and headed back the way we were planning to walk.
It’s all more than a little dystopian. The number of broken down cars is epic.
With tempers fraying, we get within a few hundred metres of the airport. Sods Law, it’s the deepest part of the flood water. Jenn would be practically submerged in the attempt. The red airport radar, rotates in the foreground, reminiscent of the eye of Sauron in LORs. Certainly wish I had hobbit feet at this moment in time.
Just as I might be tempted to abandon hope… a local in a 4×4 stops and asks where we are trying to get to. Incredibly they offer us a lift (everyone else has happily driven past us for the last two hours)! We gratefully climb in and sit quietly as we traverse the final section. The short journey is made more difficult as a result of having to slalom through the abandoned cars. The water is almost unpassable even in a 4×4. But, thanks to two lovely locals gents we arrive at Terminal 2. My faith in human nature is duly restored.
Part 1 of our mission complete. We reach the airport.
We speak to an airline rep, who looks utterly knackered. He says that the flight is still scheduled to leave, but will be delayed. He then adds in a whispered footnote, that if he were us, he would cancel now. No way the plane is going to leave.
Thank God for a bit of honesty. We ask about baggage reclaim and he says that it’s possible in some instances and will take about an hour.
Decide to have a coffee and toastie before making our next move. Airport is a crowded mess. Some people are asleep on the floor, others are sat on their trolleys looking grim, some groups were even chanting prayers in Arabic. No one seems to know very much about anything.
We have a few options open to us. 1. Stay in Dubai for a few days until things calm down. 2. Try to get to Muscat by car. 3. Try to get to Abu Dhabi by car.
All roads (pun intended) lead to trying to reclaim our luggage. So with food consumed we head to arrivals. We join a queue of people waving luggage labels at staff. The people in front of us are travelling with the same airline. They are told the earliest they can collect their luggage is tomorrow. Our hearts sink. We wait our turn and are genuinely delighted when they say we can go to try and find our bags.
After heading through security, we find ourselves in luggage city! Bags everywhere. Our cases are liberally scattered, but we do manage to find them. Not that it’s a contest, but end result is David 3 – Jenn 0! 😊 Speak to another Brit who is rummaging amongst the cases, he’s planning to try and get to Abu Dhabi.
Part 2 of our mission complete. We have luggage.
Spend a bit of time online trying to find a driver to Muscat. No joy.
We buy tickets for a local bus, resigned to spending longer in Dubai. Fortunately, as it pans out, the bus doesn’t arrive for an age. We split resources, Jenn waits for bus, I wait for one of the few cabs that are running.
After a couple of hours I reach the front of the taxi queue. The taxi drivers face a challenge. The vast majority have been told by their company that if they go through flood water and damage their cars, they will be liable for the cost. As a result they will only take certain fares. Can’t blame them.
Somehow we manage to find a guy willing to attempt the journey to Abu Dhabi. He makes it clear though, that he has no idea if it’s possible, no idea how much it will cost, and that he can’t go through flood water without us agreeing to pick up any damages.
In the words of Gimili from LOR – ‘Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?’
Part 3 of our mission complete. We have a driver.
The roads are utter carnage. Most are closed. Our driver is in talkative mood. Think he’s lonely. Describes 7-hour journeys the night before to cover a few kilometres, people wanting to exit the cab in the flood waters when they saw the metre costs spiralling, watching luxury cars gets swallowed by the water, and generally describing scenes that had not been witnessed in Dubai in living memory.
We start our journey and end up being turned back multiple times because of road closures.
Bizarre experience to see traffic moving in both directions, without any apparent order, on major roads.
Jenn decides to navigate using Google maps. Quite entertaining from my vantage point. Our taxi driver just accepts her decisions, and we gradually edge our way through the city. It makes for interesting window viewing. For mile long stretches one would think everything was normal. Then a stretch of water appears reaching halfway up the stranded cars, only held back by road dividers.
We (Jenn) navigates our way successfully around the blocked roads. Final obstacle it seems is a red patch on Google maps. The road is open, but the water is high.
Our taxi driver is not keen. Jenn coaxes him closer and closer – ‘let’s just watch what other people are doing’. Watch as a Maserati coupe, with low clearance, attempts the crossing. Shame, was a nice car!
A stranded bus has blocked the road, so we have to go deeper into the water. Taxi driver by now is committed. We hold our breath and cross fingers. If we get stuck here, we are buggered.
The Gods smile upon us and we are through! Rest of the journey is straightforward, although the impact of the storm can be seen for the entire drive. Arrive at our hotel unscathed. Only cost us £80.
Part 4 of our mission complete. We escape Dubai.
What to do now. Options. 1. Fly to Muscat next day from Abu Dhabi. 2. Stay in Abu Dhabi until our flight to Mozambique (we were due to connect in Abi Dhabi from Muscat). 3. Skip Oman and fly to Mozambique earlier.
Decide it all depends on what the airline will allow us to do. Turns out we have limited options. Despite the fact we connect through Abu Dhabi to get to Mozambique, they won’t allow us to join for just the second leg. We can’t cancel and rebook, as there are no other available flights.
Decide the better part of valour is to fly to Muscat on the 19th. Will only give us three days in Oman, but enough time to do a desert and mountain tour. Also means we will be in the right place for our next flight.
Part 5 of our mission complete. Plan escape from UAE.
Interesting few days to say the least. The press coverage suggests that it will take a few days to get back to normal operations, clear the backlog, and repair infrastructure. Really feel for those that are stuck at the airport, the staff working so hard, and to anyone who lost their lives (some mixed reporting over this). When we were wading through water on our way back to the airport, definitely questioned my own sanity – but as luck would have it, proved to be a good decision.
Will be interesting to see what lessons are learned on the back of this. There are some basic issues to consider, first amongst those being effective communication. If people don’t know what to do, they will arrive on mass. A simple banner on web pages would help people to make effective decisions and ease the burden on staff.
Deep breath and onward to Oman.