Excerpt from Emirates reply:
Naturally, I was sorry to read that you were amongst those passengers affected by the diversion of flight EK162 on 30 March 2012 to Ras Al Khaimah Airport.
As you state, the aircraft was initially held above Dubai Airport in a holding pattern, due to AirTraffic Control restrictions. Unfortunately, continuing adverse weather conditions then resulted in the necessity to divert the aircraft to the nearest available airport .
I should mention that flight EK162 was one of 5 flights that could not land at Dubai Airport and were diverted to different airports in the region. The other 4 flights were refuelled and continued on to Dubai when the weather improved with only a short delayed arrival.
Regrettably after landing, your aircraft developed a technical issue that needed to be rectified prior to departure. When it became apparent that this issue could not be solved by the local engineers, Emirates engineers and crew had to be sought from Dubai. Therefore, our staff arranged for passengers to be transported back to Dubai by road.
I would like this opportunity to explain that Emirates would never compromise the safety of its passengers and would not operate an aircraft unless our engineers advise us that it is safe to do so.
Although Emirates staff had been dispatched from Dubai Airport to assist with the arrangements, Immigration officials at Ras Al Khaimah, refused to allow all passengers to leave the aircraft. This was a matter wholly outside our own control and although every effort was made to challenge the decision, we were unsuccessful in our negotiations and passengers were required to remain on the aircraft. I am truly sorry for the distress and discomfort this caused.
Flight EK162 subsequently did not land at Dubai Airportuntil 10.38 hours on 31 March….”
RKT can't have been an unknown or unfamiliar environment for EK and any risk assessments would have identified any adverse implications for landing at this airport with a full load of PAX on a Friday evening/ early Saturday.