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CHENNA: An Emirates flight bound for Dubai from Chennai with 206 passengers on board was forced to make a U-turn over the Arabian Sea in the early hours of Monday, reports Venkadesan S. The decision was taken after authorities alerted the pilot about a fire at Dubai airport triggered by drone strikes near a fuel tank facility. The flight (EK543) took off from Chennai at 4am, but the pilot received an alert not to proceed further when the flight was flying at 34,000-ft over the Arabian Sea. Immediately, the flight returned to Chennai and landed safely at 6.45am. It was declared cancelled. Passengers were deboarded and instructed to reschedule their journey.
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Harini from the city, who was hoping to reach London via Dubai, said she would not be able to report to work in London due to the cancellation of the flight. Syed Hasan, another passenger, said he could not visit his wife in Dubai, and his flights were cancelled three times in past one week. Usha, a senior citizen passenger, said the flight crew did not detail the reason for the return. Ahmedabad-Dubai flight also turns around An Ahmedabad-Dubai flight (EK539), carrying over 250 passengers, was also forced to return shortly after take-off early Monday as operations at Dubai airport were briefly disrupted. In a separate incident, an Emirates flight (EK649) from Colombo to Dubai was diverted to Ahmedabad, landing at 11.36am with nearly 300 passengers on board.
