Two Emirates Delhi-Dubai bound flights were diverted on Sunday due to suspected drone activity. The diverted flights could not land at their destination city and even the Dubai airport had to be shutdown for a while. The flight EK-511 was diverted to nearby Sharjah Internarional Airport.

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Drone activity suspected in Dubai airspace

Emirates reportedly said that the Dubai International Airport (DXB) had to be closed down for 15 minutes due to a suspected drone activity in the surrounding airspace. Flight EK 433 from Brisbane and Singapore to DXB was diverted to Dubai World Central (DWC) and flight EK 511 from Delhi to DXB was diverted to Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) 

They also said the flights would return as soon as the DXB airspace is reopened and that they will assist the affected passengers with re-booking options and hotel accomodation where required. Adding that the safety of passengers and crew will not be compromised.

Growing drone activities have forced airline operations to shut temporarily. A few airports affected by drone activity include Delhi's IGIA, Singapore Changi and London Gatwick. Authorities globally are trying to tackle the menace of unauthorised flying of drones near airports. 

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Drone sightings at Gatwick airport 

A drone was spotted near an airliner flying at 1,700ft (518m) towards the West Sussex airport, the UK Aiprort Board (UKAB) had reportedly said. The incident involved an Airbus A320 approaching Gatwick airport and a dark-coloured drone, the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) said. The pilot saw the device and was a neear-miss for the flight.

Drone sightings at Gatwick in December 2018 caused about 1,000 flights to be cancelled or diverted over 36 hours, affecting more than 140,000 passengers. Heathrow, Leeds Bradford and Dublin airports have also been forced to suspend flights due to drone activity this year.

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Drone sightings at Germany

A drone sighting had caused all flights to be suspended at Frankfurt Airport in May this year. The airport is Germany’s busiest, serving almost 14.8 million passengers in the first three months of this year. According to the local news, drone sightings near Germany's airports have increased with the country’s Air Traffic Control registering a whopping 125 sightings last year.

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