Dubai Fog And Gulf Hub Delays Hit Connections

Published on Nov 25, 2025, 2:58 pm CST

10 min read

Key points

Heavy fog on November 20 disrupted flights at Dubai International Airport and Sharjah International Airport with diversions, delays, and cancellations
On November 23 Gulf hubs including Dubai, Jeddah, Bahrain, Dammam, and Istanbul recorded 221 delays and 12 cancellations across core connection banks
Residual backlogs and a pattern of early morning fog mean connections via Dubai and Sharjah remain vulnerable for several days
Travelers bound for Africa, Asia, or Europe through Gulf hubs should favor longer layovers, earlier departures, and single ticket itineraries
Those already ticketed on tight overnight connections should prebook backup hotels and monitor airline apps for rolling rebooking options

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the longest queues and misconnect risk on morning and overnight banks through Dubai, Sharjah, Jeddah, Bahrain, and Dammam in the next few days
Best Times To Fly: Midday departures on days with clear forecasts and earlier departures from origin cities give the best chance of keeping connections intact
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Aim for at least three hours between long haul legs via Gulf hubs and avoid self connections on separate tickets while backlogs clear
What Travelers Should Do Now: Check live status before leaving for the airport, move to more resilient routings where seats exist, and line up hotel and insurance options in case of forced overnights

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Dubai fog flight delays on November 20, combined with a fresh wave of 221 delayed flights across Gulf hubs on November 23, have left Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) working through backlogs that continue to affect connections into Africa, Asia, and Europe. Passengers connecting through these hubs, especially on overnight itineraries to Jeddah, Bahrain, Dammam, Amman, and other regional cities, now face a higher risk of missed connections and forced overnights. Travelers using Dubai and Sharjah in the coming days should treat tight layovers as risky, build in extra buffer time, and prepare backup plans in case backlogs linger.

In practical terms, Dubai fog flight delays and wider Gulf hub disruption in late November mean that connections through Dubai and Sharjah are less reliable than usual, especially on overnight banks linking India, the Levant, and African gateways, so many travelers will need to reroute, accept longer layovers, or add overnight stays to keep trips on track.

Fog Disruption At Dubai And Sharjah On November 20

On November 20, dense fog and unstable weather settled over parts of the United Arab Emirates, cutting visibility around the major hubs in Dubai and Sharjah and forcing early morning operational changes. Gulf media report that both airports warned travelers to check flight status with airlines before heading to the terminals as delays and cancellations started to build.

At Dubai International, airport officials confirmed that 19 inbound flights were diverted because fog reduced visibility below safe landing minima, and that operations were slowed while Dubai Airports coordinated with airlines to restore normal flows. Sharjah saw a mix of cancellations, delays, and diversions as visibility around the airport dropped below 500 meters in the morning, prompting advisories that some international and domestic services would be disrupted and that passengers should avoid traveling to the airport without confirming updated departure times.

While many flights eventually departed the same day, diversions scattered aircraft across alternate airports and left crews out of position. That kind of early morning fog episode can ripple through the rest of the day, because banked connection waves at a hub like Dubai rely on aircraft arriving on tight schedules, unloading, then turning quickly for onward legs. When the first wave is thinned or delayed, some later flights leave half empty, others wait for late feeders, and the backlog pushes into evening departures.

Gulf Hub Backlogs On November 23

The November 20 fog did not occur in isolation. Three days later, Gulf hubs recorded a broader spike in delays and cancellations that shows how fragile the system remains once weather, staffing, and schedule strain combine.

FlightAware based tallies highlighted by Travel And Tour World and Adept Traveler show that on November 23 major hubs including Dubai, Jeddah, Bahrain, Dammam, and Istanbul together saw 221 delays and 12 cancellations. Dubai carried the largest share of that load, with more than 120 delayed flights and several cancellations at DXB, while King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Jeddah and Bahrain International Airport (BAH) also posted significant delay counts. Smaller but still material disruption was recorded at King Fahd International Airport (DMM) in Dammam and Istanbul Airport (IST), illustrating how stress at one or two hubs propagates along common long haul corridors.

The November 23 figures hit the same long haul connection structure that runs through DXB, JED, BAH, and DMM every day, with concentrated banks of arrivals and departures linking South and Southeast Asia, East Africa, Europe, and North America. When more than 200 flights in that system run late, minimum connection times erode quickly, leaving passengers on tight itineraries stranded, even if their specific flights technically operate.

Adept Traveler has already broken down this one day pattern in detail in its earlier alert on Gulf airport delays at Dubai, Jeddah, and neighboring hubs on November 23, 2025, which maps the exact delay counts by airport and connection bank and explains why tight same day connections remain risky for at least 24 to 48 hours afterward.

How Long Recovery Usually Takes At Dubai And Sharjah

Large hubs rarely snap back to normal immediately once fog clears or a delay spike passes. After a morning of diversions or extended arrival spacing, airlines need time to reposition aircraft, rebuild crew rotations within duty limits, and restore the planned sequence of banked arrivals and departures. Earlier coverage of residual impacts after U.S. shutdown related flight caps and major IT outages notes that this process typically takes one to three days at busy hubs, depending on how deep the initial disruption ran and how full schedules are when recovery starts.

Dubai and Sharjah face the same structural constraints. Even when the weather looks clear on a given morning, aircraft that diverted on November 20 or that ran late on November 23 may still be catching up, and crews who hit duty limits during the worst of the disruption may not immediately be available for reassignments. With many flights in and out of the Gulf running near capacity in the winter peak and holiday build up, there is less spare inventory to absorb misconnected passengers, so rebooking can stretch into next day departures.

Travelers should assume that residual impacts from the November 20 fog and the November 23 delay spike will linger for several days, particularly on routes that depend on tight connections between overnight legs and morning departures. That includes combinations such as South Asia to Europe via Dubai or Jeddah, regional Gulf to East Africa via Dubai or Bahrain, and some Westbound itineraries that step through the Gulf between Asia and North America.

Routing Strategies For Gulf Connections

For travelers who have not yet ticketed trips, the simplest mitigation is to design itineraries that respect how sensitive Gulf hubs currently are to weather and volume shocks. Where possible, favor single ticket bookings on one airline or alliance rather than separate tickets that require exiting and re clearing security or customs in Dubai or Sharjah. Mixed ticket self connections work when everything runs on time, but they are the first to break when backlogs build, and they offer the weakest protection if something goes wrong.

On any routing that uses Dubai, Sharjah, Jeddah, Bahrain, or Dammam as connecting points in the next few days, treat one hour and even ninety minute layovers as high risk. Aim for at least three hours between long haul legs, and consider even longer buffers when a red eye arrival feeds into a morning departure whose bank is already under pressure. Earlier Adept Traveler pieces on flight caps, European hub delays, and African regional cancellations all converge on the same rule of thumb, that low slack in the system and tight hub schedules make short connections much less reliable than their minimum times suggest.

If alternate routings exist, it can be worth diverting around the Gulf entirely. For example, some India to Europe itineraries can be moved to non stop legs or via Istanbul or European hubs, and some East Africa trips can be reworked through Addis Ababa instead of the UAE. Those alternatives will not suit every origin and destination pair, and they may carry higher fares, but they trade one concentrated risk, Gulf hub disruption, for more diversified exposure across the network. Travelers already booked through Dubai who see repeated rolling delays on their app should proactively ask airlines about rerouting through other hubs before seats dry up.

For structural context on how disruptions such as volcanic ash, congestion, and air traffic control limits interact with Gulf hub routing, travelers can also refer to Adept Traveler's recent piece on Ethiopia volcano ash hitting flights and Danakil tours, which explains why India Gulf and trans Red Sea corridors are already under pressure this month.

What Travelers With Imminent Trips Should Do

Passengers with trips in the next three to five days that touch Dubai or Sharjah should start by checking booking channels and airline apps for any schedule changes that have already been pushed. Many airlines quietly retime or consolidate services after major disruptions, and catching those changes early provides more flexibility than waiting to be surprised at the airport.

Next, look at each connection in your itinerary and ask whether it is realistically survivable under current conditions. Anything that leaves less than three hours at a Gulf hub, especially when an overnight leg feeds into a morning departure, should be treated as suspect. In many cases, moving to a slightly earlier departure from your origin, accepting a longer layover, or shifting to a different connection bank on the same day can reduce misconnect risk at relatively low cost, while trying to hold onto an aggressive connection can turn one delay into a forced overnight stay.

It is also worth lining up backup plans in case disruption escalates again. That means identifying airport hotels or nearby mid range options at Dubai and Sharjah that still have availability, reviewing travel insurance terms for coverage of delays and missed connections, and checking credit card benefits that may reimburse extra nights or meals when common carrier delays exceed certain thresholds. On routes where visas or entry rules are strict, confirm whether you are allowed to enter the country for an unplanned overnight if a misconnect occurs.

Finally, keep an eye on short term weather bulletins from the United Arab Emirates National Centre of Meteorology, which has issued repeated red and yellow fog alerts in recent days as visibility dropped below 1,000 meters in parts of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Forecasts calling for more early morning fog or localized rain around the UAE should be treated as a fresh signal that Gulf hubs may have another unsteady day, especially if the alerts coincide with already busy weekend or holiday peaks.

Background: Why Winter Fog Hits UAE Hubs

Fog is a recurring feature of winter weather in the UAE, especially in the early morning hours when cooler overnight temperatures meet warmer, humid air over coastal plains. The National Centre of Meteorology and local outlets routinely issue color coded alerts when visibility drops across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and other emirates, warning drivers about road safety and signaling that airport operations may need to slow.

For airports like Dubai International and Sharjah International, which run dense schedules on parallel runways and rely on precise approach spacing, thick fog triggers conservative procedures. Arrivals may be reduced to protect runway safety, aircraft may be held in stacks or diverted if minima are not met, and departures may be delayed while crews wait for conditions to improve. These measures keep flying safe, but they thin out banked waves of flights, which in turn weakens the connective tissue that allows passengers to make cross regional trips on single layovers.

This month's combination of winter fog, heavy seasonal demand, and a separate wave of Gulf hub delays illustrates how quickly operational margin can vanish. Travelers who understand that dynamic, and who design itineraries with realistic buffers and contingency plans, have a better chance of keeping long haul trips intact even when weather does not cooperate.