Dubai’s Emirates cancels 10 US flights due to bad weather

Dubai carrier Emirates today cancelled 10 flights to the US East Coast and delayed six others as bad weather associated with storm Stella caused disruption at several airports.

Heavy snow and flooding is expected to hit New York, Philadelphia and other cities from Monday until Tuesday evening.

Among the routes cancelled were Emirates’ new daily service to Newark via Athens, which launched this week.

The carrier said only the section between Dubai and Athens would operate.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates begins controversial Athens-Newark route

Others included the carrier’s direct services to New York JFK and Boston.

Cancelled flights
• EK 203 Dubai to New York JFK
• EK 204 New York JFK to Dubai
• EK 201 Dubai to New York JFK
• EK 208 New York JFK to Dubai
• EK 239 Dubai to Boston
• EK 240 Boston to Dubai
• EK 237 Dubai to Boston
• EK 238 Boston to Dubai
• EK 209 Athens to Newark (Dubai- Athens sector will operate)
• EK 210 Newark to Athens (Athens- Dubai sector will operate)

The airline’s flights to Washington, New York JFK via Milan and other direct service to New York JFK were also delayed.

Delayed Flights
• EK 231 Dubai to Washington D.C. (originally scheduled to depart at 2:25am, departed at 4:25am local time Dubai)
• EK 232 Washington D.C. to Dubai (originally scheduled to depart at 11:10am will now depart at 1:00pm local time Washington D.C.)
• EK 205 Milan to New York JFK (originally scheduled to depart at 3:00pm will now depart at 6:00pm local time Milan)
• EK 206 New York JFK to Milan (originally scheduled to depart at 10:20pm local time will now depart at 12:00am on March 15 local time New York)
• EK 207 Dubai to New York JFK (originally scheduled to depart at 3:00pm will now depart at 5:00pm local time Dubai)
• EK 202 New York JFK to Dubai (originally scheduled to depart at 11:45pm will now depart at 1:30am on March 15 local time New York)

Emirates said affected passengers are being rebooked on alternate flights to their destinations.

“We are closely monitoring the situation. We apologise for any inconvenience, the safety of our crew and passengers is of the utmost importance,” it said.

Abu Dhabi rival Etihad also cancelled its Tuesday EY103 flight from Abu Dhabi to New York and the return journey.

It said EY101 to New York would be upgraded to an Airbus A380 to accommodate passengers affected by the cancellation but warned this too could be delayed.

However, services to Washington and Chicago are operating as scheduled, according to the carrier.

The cancellations came as the UAE Embassy to the US warned nationals on the East coast to stay tuned to local weather alerts.

ALERT/ #UAE nationals on East Coast of #US, stay tuned to local weather alerts on upcoming snow storm. Plz call 911 or Emb:+1(202)431-5530 pic.twitter.com/ryuskYqn1M

— UAE Embassy US (@UAEEmbassyUS) March 13, 2017

More than 5,000 flights have been cancelled in the US because of the storm, according to reports.