An Emirates flight that departed from Melbourne last night bound for Dubai International Airport has been diverted following a drone attack near the airport.
EK407 left Melbourne at 10.52pm on Sunday and was due to arrive at Dubai International at 5.40am on Monday (Dubai time), according to information on FlightRadar24.
A drone attack near the Dubai International hit a fuel tank, forcing authorities to temporarily suspend flights.
The flight instead landed at Dubai World Central, the international airport in Jebel Ali, Dubai, about an hourโs drive away.
A Dubai International-bound flight from Sydney was also diverted.
EK413 left Sydney at 9.54pm on Sunday and was due to arrive at 5.15 Monday morning Dubai time at Dubai International. It was instead diverted to Dubai World Central, information from FlightRadar24 showed.
Both planes were Airbus A380s. Emirates information suggests passengers will be transferred by air to Dubai international.
The airline was contacted for comment.
โAll flights to and from Dubai have been temporarily suspended,โ Emirates posted after the attack.
โWe would like to thank our customers for their understanding and patience,โ the Dubai-based airline said, warning passengers not to go to the airport.
Later, the Dubai Media Office X account posted that the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority had announced โthe gradual resumption of some flights to and from Dubai International Airport to selected destinations, following the temporary suspension implemented as a precautionary measureโ.
The incident is the third at the Dubai airport, one of the worldโs busiest international travel hubs, since Iran began its attacks on Gulf nations on February 28.
A significant number of Australians have relied on travel through Dubai to reach Europe and Britain in recent years. The outbreak of the war has paralysed flights between Australasia and Europe, stranding more than 10,000 Australians in transit.
Even as Emirates seeks to scale up flights following the start of the war, official Australian government advice is to avoid the region.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on the Smartraveller.gov.au website, lists the United Arab Emirates as a โdo not travelโ country.
โThe regional conflict is likely to escalate further. We advise you to leave the UAE, donโt wait until itโs too late,โ it says.
DFAT also lists Qatar, Kuwait, Israel and Bahrain among other nations in the region.
โโDo not travelโ advice also applies to transit and layovers in affected locations,โ DFAT says. โEven if you donโt plan to leave the airport, do not transit through these countries.โ
โAirports, hotels, roads, bridges and other locations have been struck with missiles.
โIf you travel to or transit through a โDo not travelโ country, you may be unable to leave. Your safety will be at risk.โ
Iran has been sending salvos of missiles and drones towards military and civilian targets across the Persian Gulf after Israel and the US mounted an attack on Tehran, seeking regime change.
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Chris Zappone is a senior reporter covering aviation and business. He is former digital foreign editor.Connect via X, Facebook or email.
