Etihad Airways flight EY440 was diverted from Manila to Puerto Princesa International Airport on 8 August 2026 after monsoon rains intensified by Typhoon Dolphin closed the Philippine capital’s airspace to arriving aircraft.
The Airbus A330-223 departed Abu Dhabi at 10pm on Friday 7 August and landed safely at Puerto Princesa at 1.03pm on Saturday after a flight of 10 hours and 58 minutes, roughly one hour and 40 minutes longer than the standard Abu Dhabi-to-Manila route.
The aircraft had entered a holding pattern on approach to Manila before turning southwest to the alternative airport, according to aviation tracking site Flightradar24.
Passengers held overnight, onward flight planned
All passengers disembarked safely at Puerto Princesa. Etihad said hotel accommodation was being arranged while plans were made for the continuation of the journey to Manila.
‘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,’ the airline said.
Etihad’s website listed a departure from Puerto Princesa at 8.10pm on Sunday 9 August for the short hop to Manila. The airline also apologised to passengers on the return service to Abu Dhabi, which had been scheduled to depart Manila the previous day.
Thirty-seven flights disrupted across Philippines
Etihad flight EY440 was one of 37 flights affected by the weather on 8 August, according to GMA News Online’s report on the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ list. Among the other diverted services were a China Southern flight from Guangzhou, redirected to Clark, and a Cebu Pacific flight from Incheon, which landed at Iloilo instead of Manila.
The disruption was driven by the southwest monsoon, which Typhoon Dolphin was drawing and intensifying across Luzon and the western Philippines. As of 3am on 8 August, Typhoon Dolphin was located 810 kilometres northeast of extreme Northern Luzon, moving southwest at 15 kilometres per hour, according to Rappler’s report on the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecast.
On maximum sustained winds, earlier reporting and the PAGASA forecast differ: the original report cited gusts of up to 198 km/h, while the PAGASA data carried by Rappler put the figure at 190 km/h, with maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h. PAGASA said the typhoon was unlikely to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility but its amplification of the monsoon was already being felt across a wide stretch of the country.
PAGASA issued an orange heavy rainfall warning, covering 100 to 200 mm of rain, for Ilocos Sur, La Union, Abra, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan and Occidental Mindoro on 8 August. Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro and Antique were placed under a yellow warning of 50 to 100 mm, Philstar reported citing PAGASA.
PAGASA weather specialist Benison Estareja said the intensified monsoon would be felt from Friday through Sunday in the Ilocos Region, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro and Western Visayas, GMA News Online reported.
Etihad had not published a revised timetable for subsequent Abu Dhabi-Manila services beyond the Puerto Princesa-to-Manila leg scheduled for the evening of 9 August.
