A blinding dust storm hit Kuwait on Tuesday, forcing the closure of the Gulf emirate's three ports and disrupting air traffic, officials said.
Winds blowing at a speed of up to 40 kilometres (25 miles) an hour caused the storm, the second in four days in this desert oil-rich emirate, reducing visibility to below 300 metres (yards) at Kuwait airport.
Issam al-Zamel, head of operations at the Civil Aviation Authority, told the KUNA news agency that incoming planes were facing difficulty landing.
One private Iranian jet returned to Tehran and an Egyptian plane diverted to Dammam in Saudi Arabia.
Scheduled flights out of Kuwait were still taking off by early afternoon.
The meteorological department is forecasting the dust storm will continue until Friday.
Kuwait has virtually had no rain this winter which makes desert sand loose and easily carried by strong northwesterly winds. Dust storms are rare in winter but are common in summer when the temperature reaches 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
