A Dubai Airports spokesperson said Sunday that flight arrivals at the aiport were disrupted at around afternoon because of "suspected drone activity resulting in the diversion of two flights."
According to reports, two Emirates flights that were expected to land at the airport had to be diverted.
"Emirates can confirm that today, Sunday, September 22, 2019, Dubai International Airport was closed from 12.36pm to 12.51pm local time due to suspected drone activity in the surrounding airspace. As a result flight EK433 from Brisbane and Singapore to Dubai International Airport (DXB) was diverted to Dubai World Central (DWC) and flight EK511 from Delhi to Dubai International Airport was diverted to Sharjah International Airport (SHJ)," Emirates spokesperson said as quoted by the Khaleej Times.
The Emirates spokesperson added that operations have returned to normal.
Earlier, the rebels from the Ansal Allah movement (Houthis) threatened to attack the largest UAE cities, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, after a drone strike on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
The news comes amid tensions in the region after two drones attacked Saudi Aramco oil facilities on 14 September, causing a major fire and partially disrupting oil production. Responsibility for the incident was claimed by Yemen's Houthis, but the US put the blame on Iran. Tehran has strongly denied all the allegations.
Although the responsibility was claimed by the military wing of Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, Saudi Arabia and the United States have put the blame on Iran. Tehran has refuted the accusations.
