Thousands of tourists and travellers have been left stranded after Dubai’s main airport was shut down following a nearby drone strike.

Dubai International Airport announced at 1.36am GMT on Monday it had suspended flights after a drone hit a nearby fuel tank.

Many Emirates flights already in the air were diverted, while others waiting to take off were cancelled.

Passengers onboard a flight from London Stansted nearly made it to Dubai, but were diverted to Vienna, Austria.

The suspension of flights also affected thousands of people who were hoping to finally return to the UK after being stranded in the Middle East – or other parts of the world where UK flights connect in the region – since the start of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran.

All seven Emirates flights from Dubai to London Heathrow on Monday were cancelled.

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Five flights from UK airports returned to their points of origin. They included a flight from Edinburgh, which had made it as far as Egyptian airspace before it turned back.

Dubai International Airport said at 6.11am that flights were “gradually resuming to selected destinations”.

It remains unclear whether the drone was intercepted or what its intended target may have been.

Social media posts claimed the drone struck a nearby fuel tank, sending a large plume of black smoke into the air close to the airport, though this has not been officially confirmed.