Up until recently, Dubai International Airport (DXB) was the busiest in the world, though that has changed in the past few weeks. With the United States and Israel attacking Iran, and Iran then responding, there has been chaos in the region, with implications that are being felt globally.
As much as Emirates has been trying to basically resume its full schedule in the coming weeks, things aren’t looking so good, as Dubai faced another major setback today.
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Dubai Airport fuel tank attacked by drone, causing fire
Early today (Monday, March 16, 2026), Dubai Airport was attacked for the third time in recent weeks. The first attack was on February 28, where a drone directly hit the terminal.
The second attack was on March 7, where we saw a drone just barely miss the terminal and an aircraft.
Now we’ve just seen a third attack, whereby a drone crashed near the airport’s fuel tanks, causing damage. The fire caused by the attack was so bad that it took over 12 hours to extinguish.
As you’d expect, operations at the airport had to be suspended for several hours. It’s hard to know exactly what’s going on and how major the impact on infrastructure was, given that the government very closely controls the narrative around what happens, and it certainly seems like they have the tendency to downplay most things. However, even as operations have resumed, it hasn’t been business as usual.
Dubai bans foreign airlines, Emirates flights add refueling stops
Following today’s attack, there have been a couple of significant developments. First, this evening, the government has reportedly suspended all flights operated by foreign airlines until further notice.
According to reports, the memo that was sent to foreign airlines indicates that in “reference to the prevailing situation within the region and in the interest of the safety of airlines, crew, passengers, employees and the public,” that “landing permission for aircraft operating into DXB/DWC airport(s) in the Emirate of Dubai is suspended until further notice.”
More information about the rationale of suspending foreign airlines but continuing to allow operations by local carriers hasn’t been clarified. So while safety is being mentioned, I imagine there could also be more to this.
It’s also worth pointing out that following the reopening of the airport today, we’ve seen many Emirates flights make stops after departing Dubai, on the way to their destinations. While no official reason has been given, I assume this is related to a limitation on fueling planes due to the airport fuel tank explosion.
It’s anyone’s guess how this all plays out, though these are all horrifying scenes, and I hope this conflict is resolved soon, to minimize casualties and injuries.
I can’t help but think that Gulf carriers won’t be bouncing back from this for a very long time, in terms of a full recovery of sixth freedom traffic that these airlines are known for carrying. Places like Dubai have become what they have because of how well regarded they are for safety, despite the conflicts that sometimes arise in the region. But this is unlike anything the UAE has ever seen.
Bottom line
A fuel tank at Dubai Airport was struck by a drone today, causing a massive explosion, and then a fire that went on for many hours. As you’d expect, airport operations were suspended for several hours.
Beyond that, though, Dubai has now banned foreign airlines, claiming it’s on safety grounds, while local airlines can continue to fly. However, carriers like Emirates are making stops on some flights after departing Dubai, and I’d imagine that’s for refueling.
What do you make of how this situation is playing out at Dubai Airport?
I also support banning foreigners.
Didn't you say you relocated from the US to Turkey? *facepalm*
People were saying it would take many many years for travel to recover after covid....
Once the war resolves, it'll bounce back even faster. They'll lower the prices a little to entice people back, maybe even improve their frequent flyer programs smidge to further entice people. People have incredibly short memories.
"People have incredibly short memories" ... in the Middle East??
How optimistic.
"People have incredibly short memories" ... in the Middle East??
How optimistic.
Is this being done primarily for safety/risk reasons, or is it to ensure that the traffic that remains (of which I understand there's a fair bit; people visiting for Easter, etc) goes on Emirates?
@ Chris D -- It's a fair question. Officially it's the former. I doubt the airline is doing this simply as a favor to Emirates, though it may also come down to lack of access to fuel at the moment, and not wanting to get foreign airlines tangled up in that.
Wow this is very bad news. I pray for the safety of all innocent people.
The United Arab Emirates needs to vastly improve the saftey of their air defenses.
Looks at other countries, like Riyadh airport or Tel Aviv’s Ben Guruon, they are properly defending their sovereignty with solid air defense systems.
Riyadh and Tel Aviv are much further from Iran and therefore bit more time to react and defend
Distance is also a factor here. Dubai is much closer to Iran than Riyadh or Tel Aviv, which is precisely why DXB tends to be more affected than RUH, TLV or even AUH.
For example, a potential threat aimed at RUH first has to traverse through Eastern KSA (and thankfully, they're mostly eliminated there). This is why DMM tends to suspend operations more frequently than Riyadh does. The same applies to Tel Aviv, as it...
Distance is also a factor here. Dubai is much closer to Iran than Riyadh or Tel Aviv, which is precisely why DXB tends to be more affected than RUH, TLV or even AUH.
For example, a potential threat aimed at RUH first has to traverse through Eastern KSA (and thankfully, they're mostly eliminated there). This is why DMM tends to suspend operations more frequently than Riyadh does. The same applies to Tel Aviv, as it takes time for drones/missiles to travel across Iraq and Syria, allowing Israel to mobilize and prepare its defenses before the threats actually enter the Israeli airspace.
Another factor is that since 28 February, the UAE and Kuwait have experienced more drones/missiles from Iran than Israel did. Coupling the higher number of threats with their close proximity to Iran helps explain why these incidents occur.
To be honest, considering the volume of drones/missiles, they have done a commendable job intercepting threats while still trying to keep operations running.
A ban and a suspension don’t sound like the same thing.
@ CF Frost -- Maybe we have different definitions of the word ban, but the one I'm using is "officially or legally prohibit." Dubai has officially prohibited foreign airlines from flying to the airport until further notice, and I'd consider that to be a ban. But suspension of course works as well...
The irony here is that the Dubai Free Trade Zone looked the other way for years when Iran was stockpiling all of the supplies and components for the weapons now being used in the attacks. Sheikh got paid which is all that matters.
There are obviously bigger concerns, but I am selfishly sad I will have to cancel both an Etihad Apartment 2x booking, as well as a non-refundable positioning flight from Asia to get there.
I get why the airlines are acting the way they are in the face of catastrophic revenue loss, but it sure isn't very customer friendly (the incremental waivers are tough to manage in the very unknowable circumstances)
Yes, We were to fly the Residence as well Mar 10th AUH-YYZ. The flight flew, but we had no way to get to AUH as our flight there was on Qatar and Qatar is not operating hardly at all.