Doha

Severe sandstorms across Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain on Wednesday night resulted in disruption of flights in the Gulf region.

Like the airports in other GCC countries, a number of incoming and outgoing flights at Hamad International Airport (HIA) was affected since Wednesday midnight.

Industry sources said the airlines had no option other than delaying their flights originating from Doha and others arriving into the city.

While some passengers spoke about the flight delay in their Facebook posts and on other social networks, inquiries with airport staff revealed that many incoming and outgoing flights were disrupted. Some flights, including those to other GCC countries, were delayed by three hours or more.

HIA authorities informed that operations returned to normal on Thursday evening.

Passengers who arrived in Doha on Wednesday night soon after the sandstorm said they could not see anything outside other than distant lights at the airport as the entire area was filled with dust.

"Even after entering the aerobridge and subsequently on our arrival at the immigration area, the interiors of the airport were filled with dust," a passenger added.

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