Scores of flights were forced to divert after a drone attack caused a fire near Dubai International Airport early Monday.
Data from Flightradar24 showed 65 flights were diverted to 34 airports across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
22 of those were so-called flights to nowhere, where passengers ended up back at the airport from which they departed.
At 10 hours and 38 minutes, Emirates Flight 76 from Paris appeared to be the longest one.
The Airbus A380 took off from Charles de Gaulle Airport around 10:15 p.m. on Sunday night.
Nearly five hours later, it U-turned over the Saudi desert. It landed back in the French capital shortly before 9 a.m.
Other lengthy diversions included Emirates flights from Edinburgh, Dublin, and Manchester.
They all U-turned over Egypt and landed back at their origins about nine to 10 hours later.
Airplanes were also tracked returning to Johannesburg, Mumbai, and Uzbekistan.
Using Flightradar24’s data, Business Insider created a map showing each airport to which flights bound for Dubai were diverted.
Seventeen of the 65 only ended up at Dubai World Center — the home of the city’s airshow and some 30 miles away from Dubai International.
Another five landed in Abu Dhabi and Muscat, Oman, and four in Al Ain, UAE.
However, the map also shows the scope of operations in Dubai and how it has become a global aviation hub, connecting passengers from around the world.
A flight from Toronto was diverted to Rome, and another from Tokyo ended up in Karachi, Pakistan. Plus, a Boeing 777 from Dallas-Fort Worth landed in Milan.
Dubai International handled over 95 million passengers last year, making it the world’s busiest for international passenger traffic, and the second-busiest overall.
Around 4:30 a.m. local time, Dubai’s media office said that a “drone incident” near Dubai International affected a fuel tank.
The fire was contained, and no injuries were reported, it later added.
Flights in and out of the airport were suspended for about four and a half hours, according to statements from Dubai Airports.
Customers were told not to come to the airport unless they had been contacted directly by their airline with a confirmed departure time, because schedules remain subject to change.
British Airways and KLM, the Dutch flag carrier, last week announced they have canceled flights to Dubai until at least March 28.
Monday’s incident appeared to be the third time that a drone has struck near the airport.
The airport was evacuated on February 28, the day the war began. And four people were injured when two drones fell nearby last Wednesday.
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