Dubai international airport began diverting all incoming flights on Tuesday as heavy rains lashed the city.
The world's busiest air hub for international passengers, which had been expecting more than 100 flights on Tuesday evening, earlier briefly halted its operations in the chaos caused by the storm.
"Due to the continued exceptional weather event currently being experienced in the UAE, Dubai International is temporarily diverting inbound flights due to arrive this evening... until the inclement situation improves," a Dubai Airports spokesperson said.
Departures will continue, said the spokesperson, who earlier warned that roads around the airport have suffered major flooding and urged passengers to use public transport.
Airport operations were earlier suspended for 25 minutes before resuming.
Schools were shut across the UAE and were to conduct remote learning on Wednesday, when further storms are forecast.
Agence France-Presse