3 hours to Dubai, 12 hours to reach airport: Torrential rains delay UAE-bound travellers

Khaleej Times

8 hours ago

With torrential rains lashing parts of south and western India, UAE residents returning from their summer break are battling floods, road blocks and hours of delay just to reach the airport. Panic has gripped many families as district administrations issue red alerts, reservoirs release excess water, local trains get cancelled and roads remain under knee-deep water.
'As soon as the authorities said water would be released from the Linganamakki reservoir, I knew things could go out of hand,' said Asif Sheikh, a Dubai-based sales supervisor who travelled back from Honnavara, Uttara Kannada in Karnataka.
'Normally, it takes me about 3-and-a-half hours to reach Mangalore airport. This time it took me 7 hours. I left a day early just so I don't miss my flight,' said Asif.
He arrived at the airport nearly eight hours before departure and spent the night waiting to board his IndiGo flight to Dubai. 'It was raining heavily while I was taking the road journey. We had to drive slowly and carefully with full alertness. At some towns, the roads were blocked. Back home, it's still raining heavily.' he added.
'We don't usually leave so early, but this time we had no choice. Missing the flight would mean shelling out another Dh2,000 to Dh3,000 for a new ticket,' he said.
It is not only travellers from southern India who are experiencing hard times. The situation in western India, especially Maharashtra, is also alarming. Mumbai has been hit by torrential rains over the past few days which has delayed dozens of flights. A red alert was issued by authorities on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to Flight Radar 24, over 150 departures and nearly 100 arrivals were delayed on Tuesday alone. The airport has issued advisory on their website stating that they are operational and asking passengers to arrive early and stay in touch with their airlines.
Abhishek Patil, a production manager at a food company in Abu Dhabi, left his hometown of Ratnagiri with his wife and three children in panic mode. 'When we heard the roads were getting blocked and even local trains were being cancelled, we decided to reach Mumbai a day early,' he said.
'We stayed at a hotel, but getting from the hotel to the airport took us nearly four hours due to waterlogged roads. There were cars breaking down on the way, people pushing their vehicles.'
His flight to Abu Dhabi was delayed by 2 hours, and the family ended up spending around 10 hours at the airport. 'Our children were exhausted, but at least we reached. In such weather, anything can go wrong."
Even those living in Mumbai are struggling to reach the airport on time. Kruthika Nair, a PR executive living in Dombivli and working in Dubai, said she left home 10 hours before her SpiceJet flight to Dubai. 'Local trains had stopped, roads were submerged. The 45-km trip to the airport took me six hours,' she said.
'I couldn't eat or drink much on the way because I was under stress that I wouldn't make it to the airport,' added Nair. Although her flight departed only an hour late, Nair said it was one of the most stressful days of her life. 'This was one of the most difficult travels of my life. One lesson I learned is not to travel to Mumbai during the monsoon,' said Nair.
With more heavy showers forecast and red alerts in place, travelers from rain-hit Indian states say they are leaving home at least 8 to 10 hours early to avoid missing their flights back to the UAE.