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Abu Dhabi-Manila Etihad flight diverted as heavy rains hit parts of Philippines
The airline apologised for the incident, announcing all passengers disembarked safely
- PUBLISHED: Sun 9 Aug 2026, 12:18 PM
A flight from Abu Dhabi to Manila had been diverted to another Philippine airport on Saturday due to extremely strong monsoon rains battering the western part of the country.
Etihad Airways flight EY440 that left Abu Dhabi at 10pm on Friday night was diverted to Puerto Princesa International Airport in west-central Philippines as torrential rains affected flight operations in its original destination.
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The airline on its website said the Airbus 330-223 landed safely in Puerto Princesa at 1.03pm Saturday afternoon, August 8, after 10 hours and 58 minutes of flying, an hour and forty minutes longer that the usual flight time from Abu Dhabi to Manila.
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The twin-engine, wide body plane flew in a holding pattern as it approached Manila but eventually flew southwest to its alternative airport, Puerto Princesa, aviation website flightradar24 said.
Etihad apologised for the incident, announcing all passengers disembarked safely.
“Following the completion of the necessary local formalities, guests have now disembarked the aircraft. Hotel accommodation is being arranged for guests while plans are made for their onward journey to Manila,” it said.
Etihad’s website said the aircraft is set to fly from Puerto Princesa at 8.10pm on the evening of Sunday for a short hour and a half hop to Manila.
The Philippine capital as well as majority of the country, however, is still experiencing heavy downpours due to the southwest monsoon rains drawn by a strong weather disturbance in the West Pacific.
Typhoon Dolphin is battering southern Japan and northern Taiwan as it barrel towards eastern China with gusts of up to 198 km per hour, according to weather agencies.
The airline said it apologises for the delay for EY440 passengers as well as to passengers of its return flight to Abu Dhabi originally scheduled yesterday.