The Fog Thread
It's that time of the year again, where scores of Middle East aircraft stuck out of position due to the prevailing climate at this time of the year.
Dubai, in particular, enjoyed quiet skies last night from just after midnight onwards. There could be heard the odd aircraft flying high, possibly circling or going around, but the 2am rush did not seem to happen this morning. At 0600hrs, the skies were still quiet (I live on the approach).
One wonders how the airlines cope with this massive problem? One assumes that all inbound EK aircraft (who could not make it into DXB overnight), are dotted around places like BAH, MCT, DOH, AUH, wherever. What impact does it have on the next daylight schedule? If the conditions at DXB look to be bad for the long term, do aircraft heading down from Europe get turned back or diverted to Southern European / Northern Gulf airports? I ask this question because surely there is a limit to what extra traffic DOH / AUH / MCT can handle, not to mention the fact that they themselves may be affected by the same weather?
Furthermore, how come some aircraft DID manage to arrive/depart, whilst others couldn't? (genuine question).
One is now able to recognise the sounds that various aircraft and their engines make whilst flying overhead - I couldn't see them, but could hear what sounded like A320's being able to move in and out of DXB. Didn't catch any other aircraft though.
Good luck to all of you who have to clear up the mess. I admire your abilities in coping with this regularly.