In a bizarre incident, two passenger jets from low-cost carrier FlyDubai and Bahrain-based Gulf Air collided with each other on the taxiway at Dubai International Airport. This incident happened on early Thursday morning, and no injuries were reported.
"Dubai Airports can confirm an incident took place in the early hours of this morning, Thursday, July 22, at DXB involving two passenger aircraft. As a result of this, one runway was temporarily closed to allow for the minor incident to be swiftly managed. Operations at DXB were not impacted and the runway was reopened after two hours," Dubai Airports said.
The authorities said that nobody was injured in the incident. The wingtip of the FlyDubai plane and the tail of the Gulf Air jet brushed each other, according to the Khaleej Times.
FlyDubai: We Apologise for the Inconvenience Caused to Our Passengers' Travel Plans
FlyDubai said one of its Boeing 737-800s heading to Kyrgyzstan found itself affected by "a minor incident" and forced to return to the stand. It said passengers took a later flight, which departed six hours later, reported AP.
"FlyDubai will work with the authorities to investigate the incident," the airline said, adding that the collision damaged a wingtip on one of the aircraft.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our passengers' travel plans. Flydubai will work with the authorities to investigate the incident," it said.
What was the repose of Gulf Air?
Gulf Air, a state-owned airline and the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, said one of its aircraft "was impacted on the tail by an aircraft of another airline." The airline did not identify the aircraft involved, but said it was "working to reconnect all the passengers to their final destinations." Gulf Air flies passengers from Dubai International Airport onto its hub at Bahrain International Airport in Manama.
Dubai International Airport is the World's Busiest Airport for International Travel
Given the Eid-al-Adha holidays, this is expected to be a very busy week for the airport, reported IANS.
On Wednesday, it tweeted: "This weekend DXB is predicted to be busy with arriving passengers returning to Dubai. With this in mind, we are advising anyone travelling to DXB over the next few days to allow for slight delays, organise onward travel in advance, and where possible, use public transport".
