Moment huge dust storm rocks major city after BA flight forced to divert

By Richard Ashmore, Senior News Reporter

Flights were diverted from the airport in Phoenix, Arizona. (Image: AP )

An apocalyptic dust storm brought chaos to the skies over America on Monday, forcing British Airways and other airlines to divert hundreds of miles from one of the USA's busiest airports. Terrifying images show the massive wall of sand and dust darkening the sky over Phoenix, Arizona, dwarfing homes and businesses.

The powerful phenomenon, known locally as a haboob, is caused by strong winds whipped up ahead of thunderstorms and typically occurs in flat, arid areas. Heavy rain and wind followed the storm, delaying flights at Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport and causing some damage to a terminal roof. The bizarre weather event also caused more than 15,000 people to lose power, mostly in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, according to PowerOutage.us.

Dramatic photographs from the area show a towering wall of dust making homes and the airport look tiny below as the cloud raced across the landscape. It's not the first time the region has experienced massive dust storms, with a similar event in 2018. 

Local resident Tim DeLaney shared a video on X of the menacing 'haboob' taking over the skies near his office, and local mum Bernae Boykin Hitesman was driving her son and daughter, ages 9 and 11, home from school when the storm struck. She had to quickly pull over as the storm engulfed her car. “I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face if I put my hand outside,” she said.

British Airways captain Dave Wallsworth, who regularly posts aviation insights on his X profile, said his flight diverted 300 miles to Las Vegas after it became clear conditions were not ideal for landing at Phoenix.

He wrote: "As we arrived in the Phoenix area, we were told the airport was closed due to a dust storm, known as a 'Haboob”. The situation deteriorated rapidly, so we and all other aircraft inbound to Phoenix diverted to other airfields.

"In our case, we went to Las Vegas. Once the Haboob had blown through the area, followed by some severe thunderstorms, we were able to fly the short flight from Las Vegas to Phoenix. A very long day, but our passengers and crew were superb."

The massive dust storm dwarfed homes in Arizona cutting power for thousands (Image: AP )

Detailing damage to the airport caused by the storm, Heather Shelbrack, the airport’s deputy aviation director for public relations, said: "Crews have been identifying leaks and attempting to clean up water where it has collected in passenger areas."

Phoenix has been drier than usual during the monsoon season, while parts of southeast and north-central Arizona have had a fair amount of rain, said Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix.

“But that’s typical for a monsoon, very hit and miss,” he said.