Emirates said it expected an eight-hour network-wide delay in its operations.
All flights departing from Dubai International Airport were delayed for several hours, and all incoming flights were being diverted to other airports, the Dubai government media office tweeted.
By Wednesday evening, departure flights had resumed, the media office said.
Related: Dubai airport handles 200,000 passengers a day
Dubai-based Emirates is the largest airline in the world by available seat kilometers, or ASK, Quest said. ASK measures an airline's passenger carrying capacity by multiplying seats available by distance flown.
Dubai International Airport is the busiest airport for international passengers.
CNN's Zahraa Alkhalisi in Dubai and Farida Fawzy in Atlanta contributed to this report.