Middle Eastern carrier Emirates has restored its flight schedules, after four days of disruption caused by thunderstorms and torrential rain in Dubai. But president Tim Clark acknowledges that the airline’s response to the extraordinary weather conditions has been “far from perfect”. As the storm, which emerged on 16 April, inflicted flooding and high winds on Dubai’s main airport, as well as downtown, Emirates was forced to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay or divert dozens more. Clark says that, while the airport remained open, the flooded roads prevented flightcrew and airport personnel, as well as supplies and customers, from reaching the hub. Aircraft movements were also reduced for safety reasons. “We acknowledge and understand the frustration of our customers due to the congestion, lack of information, and confusion in the terminals,” says Clark. “We acknowledge that the long queues and wait times have been unacceptable.” Although the flight schedule is back on track, and stranded passengers are being rebooked, the airline is still working to deliver around 30,000 items of baggage. “This week has been one of the toughest for Emirates operationally,” says Clark, pointing out that the United Arab Emirates experienced its highest level of rainfall in 75 years. He says the airline had to suspend check-in for departing passengers and put an embargo in place on ticket sales. It also had to stop connecting passenger traffic arriving at Dubai. The measures were aimed at freeing resources and capacity to assist affected customers.<br/>
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Dubai's flagship carrier Emirates and sister airline flydubai have restored normal operations after heavy rains caused severe flooding across the United Arab Emirates earlier this week, the airlines said on Saturday.<br/>Emirates cancelled nearly 400 flights and delayed many more as a result of a record storm that hit the desert city of Dubai on Tuesday, said a statement released by the airline's president, Tim Clark. Due to the impact of the storm, the airline suspended check-in for passengers departing from Dubai and halted its transit operations through Dubai International Airport, a major global travel hub, leaving thousands of travellers stranded. The airport has struggled to return to normal operations after the storm flooded taxiways, forcing flight diversions, delays and cancellations. Flydubai also returned to its full flight schedule from the airport's Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 on Saturday following the weather-related disruption, a spokesperson for the airline said. Clark said Emirates had provided 12,000 hotel rooms and 250,000 meal vouchers to customers who were affected. He added it would take days to clear the backlog of rebooked passengers. The UAE has suffered the impact of the flooding for days, with roads between the city and Abu Dhabi still partially under water as of Saturday. In Abu Dhabi, some supermarkets and restaurants faced product shortages, unable to receive deliveries from Dubai.<br/>
South Korean authorities are negotiating with France regarding the smooth operation of T’way Air’s upcoming inaugural flight to Paris. They form part of the airline’s preparations to take over four European passenger routes, including Paris, from Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines following the planned merger between the two full-service carriers. According to industry sources on Friday, French aviation authorities recently raised concerns to the South Korean government and Korean Air that T’way Air’s operation to France violates aviation agreements between the two countries. Only one national carrier, Korean Air, has been allowed to operate flights to Paris in the 34 years since the Korea and France signed an aviation agreement in 1974. But the agreement was expanded to allow “two Korean airlines” starting from 2008, thus allowing Asiana Airlines to operate flights to the City of Light as well. Korean Air currently operates seven flights per week on the Incheon-Paris route, while Asiana Airlines operates six. The French government views T’way Air’s planned launch of flights on the Incheon-Paris route at the end of June 2024 as a violation of this agreement.<br/>