Abu Dhabi Air Expo disrupted by heavy rain

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi Air Expo, which is being held at Al Bateen Airport, got disrupted due to heavy rain that lashed the Emirate on Tuesday afternoon.

Abu Dhabi Airports in a press statement said the Aerobatic Flying Display planned for this afternoon has been postponed. “Due to adverse weather conditions visitors to Abu Dhabi Air Expo 2016 have been advised to return to the event tomorrow at 10am. The Aerobatic Flying Display planned for this afternoon has been postponed,” Abu Dhabi Airports said.

The rain clouds that brought showers in the capital at around noon had moved to cover Al Ain skies at 2pm, the national weather bureau said.

Abu Dhabi city and parts of the western region received different intensities of rain coupled with thunder and lightning at noon.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) at 2pm said in a tweet that the thunderstorm cell that darkened the skies of Abu Dhabi at around noon had moved towards Al Ain and neighbouring areas in the interior UAE.

NCMS has raised the orange warning throughout the country urging the public to be on the alert as hazardous weather is forecast. Drivers should drive carefully as roads may be slippery and visibility could be poor in areas where there is heavy rainfall. Puddles could form on the roads and wadis may also overflow hence the oublic is being advised to be cautious.

According to Accuweather, there may be showers in Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and neighboring emirates, including Fujairah, by late afternoon, and possibly, thunderstorms by evening.

From the direction the thunderstorm cells are moving, it appears that the cell is moving eastwards and may cover Dubai and the northeastern and eastern emirates by late afternoon to evening.

In 2013, heavy rain closed the Dubai Airshow a day early.

The Air Expo, which started on Monday, will run until Thursday.

A number of top airline companies including Boeing, Embraer, Royal jet, Dassault aviation are exhibiting their business jets at the airport. The event is being held as part of Abu Dhabi Aviation week.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports said the new Midfield Terminal will be ready for opening in December 2017. He said the project would be 90 percent complete by the end of this year.

There are also plans to connect the airport with Metro rail in future, Mohamed Al Mazroui, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports told reporters.