Destinations Known | After floods cause Dubai flights chaos, expect travel insurance to cost more and cover less

The travel chaos we saw in Dubai this month wasn’t a one-off. Greece is dealing with its own climate problems by offering victims of wildfire ‘free’ holidays

The effects of disruptive storms and damaging heat will increasingly be felt by travellers – and by travel insurers; we can easily imagine how they will react

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Passengers queue at a flight connection desk at Dubai International Airport on April 17, 2024. Flooding caused by record deluges in the United Arab Emirates led to the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights. Photo: AFP

Mark Footer

Published: 7:45am, 25 Apr 2024

“16 hour unmanned queues that are more like mosh pits, the airport is understaffed. People passing out, fighting. No hotel stay as the airport is fully booked, food coupons don’t work. Slept on floor for 48 hours.”

Even three days after the April 16 deluge that drenched Dubai, its airport was not, judging by social media accounts such as that above, a pleasant place to be for the thousands still trapped within.

South China Morning Post culture editor Kevin Kwong was one of those caught up in the chaos, although he considers himself “one of the lucky ones”, having escaped from transit hell after only two days, at least 17 hours of which were spent in barely moving queues.

Weather forecasters knew a major storm was heading for the United Arab Emirates and authorities advised citizens to stay at home.

Passengers queued for hours at flight connection desks at Dubai International Airport after record-breaking rain hit the United Arab Emirates, causing widespread flooding. Photo: Reuters

As feared, the UAE’s largest city, Dubai, was brought to a standstill as the heaviest downpour since records began, in 1949, overwhelmed drainage systems and left the runways at Dubai International Airport (DXB) resembling fast-flowing rivers.