Holiday maker in UAE

foxy_loxy77

Hi, I'm a holiday maker in the UAE who's flight for Saturday afternoon with Emirates has been cancelled. We have received a text and email. The telephone number provided to contact does not work no one answers if it does actually ring. Are the UAE government paying the extra cost of accommodation or is this down to the airline? I'm assuming I shouldn't pay. How do we get a flight home there is nothing available on any websites and the airspace is still officially closed. Should we just wait for the airline to give us a new flight as we can't contact them. There is no email address and I have messaged through Instagram. Thanks

Eldi_Dos

Have you registered with the Foreign Office / Embassy for updates, if you have not ask recepition to assist you in doing so.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6658125/holiday-maker-in-uae

First, register with the UK Embassy. They may give you instructions. They may line you up for a repatriation flight.

UAE government won't pay for your hotel.

Keep in contact with the airline for any updates they may give you.

The airline might be liable for accommodation costs but you will probably need to pay first and reclaim later.

Do what you reasonably can to mitigate your costs.

Contact your travel insurer. They may have some assistance / advice. They may simply say acts of war are not covered.

I assume you don't have a package trip, but booked flights and accommodation separately.

Try to keep calm and good luck in your travels home.

Woodstok2000

As it's a non-EU airline flying from outside the EU, your rights are limited to airline policies and local rules. You'll need to speak to Emirates, but its unlikely they'll be paying for hotels etc.

Whatever you do, get everything I writing and keep all your receipts.

You could try travel insurance, but they usually exclude the impact of wars.

Woodstok2000

This is a good guide. It says the UAE govt are providing some accommodation, so you could try contacting them or the UK consulate. Good luck and stay safe!

https://www.cntraveller.com/article/what-travellers-stranded-in-the-uae-right-now-need-to-know

eskbanker

UAE government won't pay for your hotel.

The UAE aviation regulator reported the opposite on 1 March:

The GCAA announced that the State is bearing all hosting and accommodation costs for affected and stranded passengers, ensuring the continued provision of essential services during the period of operational adjustments.

https://www.wam.ae/en/article/173jo14-gcaa-activates-operational-plans-contain-impact

However, it's a fast-moving situation and things may be different on the ground….

Woodstok2000

Keep checking the Emirates site too. While airspace is officially closed, flights are being permitted to take off for repatriation. Emirates flights from dubai have landed at Heathrow and Gatwick today. You'll get priority booking as you're moving from an earlier flight, but that priority is likely you and a few thousand other people.

https://www.emirates.com/ch/english/help/travel-updates/

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81910616#Comment_81910616

Re priority - the way I read it, OP only meant to be flying this coming Saturday, rather than being delayed from last weekend?

Grumpy_chap

Just a thought.

If the OP has dual nationality, they might also register with the Embassy of whichever country they also have nationality of. Might (or might not) be quicker exit.

Irrelevant comment if not applicable to the OP

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81910632#Comment_81910632

Yes, but they're not going to be getting a flight back before Saturday.…as there are all the existing passengers still to be dealt with.

bagand96

The Emirates advice page is here https://www.emirates.com/uk/english/help/travel-updates/#6483 and will be worth keeping an eye on.

If you booked directly with Emirates you will need to contact them, which is probably going to take some persistence given the disruption.

Their contact page has a Live Chat option as well as a couple of phone numbers. Will also be worth logging into your booking and seeing what it says, there may be self service options to change the flight. There are a handful of flights everyday to the UK so hopefully they can get you booked on something soon.