Hundreds of Qantas passengers spent New Year’s Eve stranded in Dubai after their flight to Sydney was delayed by more than 20 hours.
Engineers in Dubai worked on the A380 aircraft while passengers were put up in hotels while they waited to learn when they could fly to Australia.
Other flights at Dubai international airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, were delayed by fog. The UAE’s National Center of Meteorology & Seismology issued a fog warning on Saturday morning, saying visibility had dropped below 100 metres in most areas.
High humidity and falling temperatures cause the fog to roll in seasonally along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The murk threatened to spoil a fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest at 828 metres (2,716ft), which was expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people on Saturday night.
Some Qantas customers expressed their frustration at the delays on social media. “I’ve been delayed for 8 hours in Dubai airport. You sent people that you delayed yesterday off on my plane and now I’m stranded,” Mia Parkes-Talbot posted to the airline’s Facebook page from Dubai on Friday night.
“I really want to go home and celebrate New Year’s Eve with family, friends and dog. Please get me home now! Please get me home before I have to spend the first moments of 2017 in an airport hotel.”
Meanwhile, others searched for answers. “You’ve put us up in a lovely hotel but we have no idea what time we’ll be leaving tomorrow. What time do we set our alarms for please? Help and communication would be great. Lots of uncertainty. Thanks,” Rob Voase wrote.
“Hi Qantas, what’s happening with your flights from Dubai? A friend is stranded there for days and may even miss NYE in Sydney. What’s the story?” said Steven Powell.
The airline said it was keen to safely fly passengers to Sydney as soon as possible. “The engineering assessment is continuing and, once resolved, we’ll be able to provide an updated arrival time,” a Qantas spokeswoman said on Saturday.
“We’re keen to get passengers on their way, but only when it’s absolutely safe to do so. We thank everyone for their patience.”
