Damaged Emirates flight EK521 at Dubai International Airport
THOSE flying with Emirates and were affected by flight cancellations, delays or diversions due to the closing of Dubai International Airport for a few hours yesterday can rebook or cancel their bookings at no charge.
The world’s busiest airport was forced to close momentarily after Emirates flight EK521 arriving from Thiruvananthapuram, India at around 12.45 local time made an emergency crash-landing on the tarmac before bursting into flames.
All 282 passengers and 18 crew aboard were evacuated safely, but a firefighter who was part of the rescue efforts died.
The Boeing 777-300 aircraft was first delivered to Emirates in 2003. The cause of the accident is still unknown, but the Middle Eastern airline is currently “fully collaborating with local authorities to determine the cause of the incident”, it said in a statement.
The carrier added that all Emirates passengers holding tickets purchased on or before August 3 can rebook or cancel their bookings for free.
For a few hours, all flights at Dubai’s main airport were either cancelled, delayed or diverted due to the incident. Some flights were rerouted to Dubai’s smaller Al-Maktoum International Airport, which opened back in 2013.
Dubai International Airport gradually resumed operations at approximately 18.30 local time yesterday.
