Two drones hit the ground near Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates on March 11, injuring four people, as conflict in the Middle East continued to disrupt air traffic.
Dubai is the world's busiest airport for international travelers, handling nearly 100 million passengers last year.
In a post on X, Dubai's media office said, "Authorities confirm that two drones fell in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport (DXB) a short while ago, resulting in minor injuries to two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national, and moderate injuries to one Indian national. Air traffic is operating as normal."
In a follow-up post on X, the office added, "Authorities in Dubai confirm that the sounds heard across parts of the city were the result of successful air defence interception operations."
Shortly after the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, Iran retaliated with thousands of drones, which have often targeted Gulf countries with U.S. bases.
Airspace Concerns
Some countries, including Qatar, have closed their airspace amid concerns over Iranian missiles and drones and the danger of planes being hit by air defense systems. Qatar Airways said in a March 10 statement that "following temporary authorisation from the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority confirming limited operating corridors," it has published a list of flights due to land or take off from the capital, Doha, on March 12.Emirates, the flag carrier airline of the United Arab Emirates based in Dubai, and Etihad, based in neighboring Abu Dhabi, have resumed some flights but are still operating below capacity.
The situation in Iran has also led to a rise in oil prices, which is having a knock-on effect on airlines' aviation fuel costs.
The Ukrainians have extensive experience in shooting down Iranian-designed Shahed drones, often using smaller unmanned aerial vehicles, machine guns, or jamming equipment to cause them to drop out of the sky.
In a March 11 post on X, Kuwait's National Guard said its air defenses had shot down eight drones. The Saudi Defense Ministry said in a post on X that it had intercepted and destroyed four drones in the eastern region of the country.
Iran Threatens ‘Strike After Strike’
In a March 11 post on X, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said, "Spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters: The policy of reciprocal strikes has ended; from now on, our policy will be strike after strike."Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters is the Iranian military command.
The U.N. Security Council says on its website that subsidiaries of a company called Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters—owned by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—were "heavily involved in the construction of the uranium enrichment site at Qom/Fordow."