Flights headed to Dubai International airport were rerouted to nearby airports on 11 June as the airspace was closed down between 11:36am and 12:45pm (local time) due to unauthorised drone activity.

Outbound flights were also delayed.

The incursion of the light air vehicle into the drone no-fly zone is estimated to have cost the emirate’s economy AED3.7m ($1m) a minute, as more than a dozen flights were diverted to Al-Maktoum International airport in the Jebel Ali area, and to the airports in Sharjah and Al-Ain.

It is understood the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has prohibited flying drones within 5 kilometres of airports and landing areas in the emirate, following a similar incident in April 2015. Apart from Dubai International airport, flying drones are prohibited within 5km of Al-Maktoum International Airport, the Al-Minhad air base and Palm Jumeirah around Skydive Dubai, according to a local media report.

The GCAA says it is investigating the case.