In February 2019, Dubai International Airport, which is the world’s busiest airport by international passenger traffic, halted operations for more than half an hour after a drone was spotted nearby. The airport told that it halted flights from 10:13am to 10:45am (local time) over “suspected drone activity”.

Shortly afterwards operations went back to normal. In the UAE, drone owners are required to register with the General Civil Aviation Authority. Authorities also ban hobbyists from putting cameras or lasers on their drones and flying in certain areas.