Emirates flight from Manchester to Sydney took four days due to floods in Dubai

Hundreds of customers shout ‘where are you’ at Emirates staff after being stranded at Dubai airport for 15 hours as floods delayed their flight to Sydney

  • Man flying from Manchester to Sydney with Emirates claims it took four days
  • He was delayed for 10 hours in the UK and waited in for up to 15 hours in Dubai 
  • Delays came after the airport was flooded by heavy rainfall over the weekend

Plane passengers have been left furious after a journey from Manchester to Sydney took four days due to floods in Dubai.

The Emirates flight, scheduled to leave the UK on Saturday, was delayed by 10 hours before it even left the ground in Manchester.

Passengers eventually arrived in Dubai only to be told they would have to be re-booked onto new connecting flights because planes could not take off from the rain-soaked runways.

Pictured: Frustrated customers wait to speak with Emirates staff after flights were delayed due to flooding in Dubai

Hundreds of furious travellers from multiple flights were forced to queue for 15 hours to arrange their new bookings – but only one staff member was catering for all of them. 

Footage from the airport showed hundreds of disgruntled travellers packed around an Emirates desk inside the airport. 

One passenger, who was returning to Sydney after spending Christmas with family in Manchester, told Daily Mail Australia about his horrendous ordeal.

‘When we were delayed at Manchester there was no communication. They knew Dubai was flooded but they kept sending more flights there.

‘When we got there, there were around 700 people queuing up to re-book their connections.’

He said passengers were given ‘one small cupcake’ and their was only one employee ‘dealing’ with the travellers. 

‘It was a total dereliction of duty by a leading airline, with terrible treatment of passengers made to queue for up to 15 hours,’ he said. 

‘There was no information, no help and customers were chanting ”where are you?” at Emirates Dubai desks.’

In a statement on Saturday, Dubai Airports confirmed operations at Dubai International (DXB) were 'hampered by the knock-on effects of water-logging caused by heavy rainfall' earlier in the day

The weather event 'resulted in a number of flight delays, cancellations and diversions'

In a statement on Saturday, Dubai Airports confirmed operations at Dubai International (DXB) were ‘hampered by the knock-on effects of water-logging caused by heavy rainfall’ earlier in the day. Pictured: Flooding at the airport 

One passenger said it took four days to travel from Manchester to Sydney. He claimed he waited 15 hours to speak with staff in Dubai

One passenger said it took four days to travel from Manchester to Sydney. He claimed he waited 15 hours to speak with staff in Dubai 

Eventually the customer got on a flight and arrived in the harbour city on Wednesday – four days after leaving the UK on Saturday.

He said: ‘I can understand a delay but it’s just the way it was dealt with that was so bad. 

‘Old people, pregnant women and children were all treated with utter contempt.’ 

Another flyer, who shared vision of the crowd at the airport, wrote on Twitter: ‘Took me 12 hours of standing in this ridiculous queue to just be spoken to.’

The woman claimed the customer service support ‘couldn’t help’ but she managed to book herself a different flight from Dubai to New York, via Paris.

’24 hours added to my travel time,’ the woman claimed. 

Footage from the airport showed hundreds of disgruntled travellers packed around an Emirates desk inside the airport

Footage from the airport showed hundreds of disgruntled travellers packed around an Emirates desk inside the airport 

Eventually the customer got on a flight and arrived in Sydney on Wednesday - four days after leaving the UK on Saturday. He said: 'I can understand a delay but it's just the way it was dealt with that was so bad' (stock image)

Eventually the customer got on a flight and arrived in Sydney on Wednesday – four days after leaving the UK on Saturday. He said: ‘I can understand a delay but it’s just the way it was dealt with that was so bad’ (stock image)

In a statement on Saturday, Dubai Airports confirmed operations at Dubai International (DXB) were ‘hampered by the knock-on effects of water-logging caused by heavy rainfall’ earlier in the day.

The weather event ‘resulted in a number of flight delays, cancellations and diversions’. 

‘We continue to work closely with our service partners to clear the backlog, restore full operations and minimise the inconvenience to our customers,’ the statement said.

‘However, with additional rain expected later this evening, the disruption is expected to continue for the next 24 hours.

‘Accordingly, customers are advised to check directly with their airlines for more specific flight information and allow additional time to get to the airport.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Emirates for comment.  

Pictured: Flooding in Dubai after the city was drenched by rain over the weekend

Pictured: Flooding in Dubai after the city was drenched by rain over the weekend

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk