Emirates flight resumption announcement

Emirates just put out a statement, and for those of us struggling, it’s total nonsense. No concrete dates because they’re clueless, all dependent on military strikes. Don’t get your hopes up.

Good news for passengers stranded in the Gulf, though. Emirates expects its network to return to normal in the coming days. However, the resumption of commercial flights is still subject to airspace availability and meeting all operational conditions, Emirates said in a statement. The airline added that it transported around 30,000 passengers from Dubai on Thursday. By March 7, Emirates will operate 106 daily return flights to 83 destinations, covering nearly 60% of its network. The Dubai-based national airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights following Iran’s retaliatory strikes, which led the UAE to close its airspace and caused minor structural damage to its Dubai hub.

Emirates just announced this, but for those of us struggling, it feels like a joke. No concrete dates because they don’t know—it depends on military strikes. Don’t get your hopes up too high.

Good news for passengers stuck in the Gulf. Emirates plans to return its network to normal in the coming days. However, the resumption of commercial flights is still subject to airspace availability and meeting all operational conditions, Emirates stated in a press release. The airline added that it transported around 30,000 passengers from Dubai on Thursday. By March 7, Emirates will operate 106 daily round-trip flights to 83 destinations, covering nearly 60% of its network. The Dubai-based national airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights following Iranian retaliatory strikes, which led the UAE to close its airspace and caused minor structural damage to its Dubai hub.

Still, there are already quite a few flights operating to Dubai! Maybe Europe is being left out...

Yes, there are few flights to Europe, but a lot to India and the Indian Ocean. 5,000 travelers are waiting to return urgently, and 40,000 don’t know anything. The issue is the on-site costs—some airlines covered the first three nights with meals, then nothing, while others haven’t helped at all from the start. One woman was asked for 20,000 € to return from Thailand for herself, her husband, and their three sons. All the hotels near Phuket Airport are full of stranded travelers. She managed to find tickets through a friend in France to return on March 12, even though her original return date was February 28. Entire families, couples, or individuals are blowing their budgets when they can.

And the private jet business is booming with a surge in prices, supposedly due to insurance linked to the areas flown over 😄

Yep, war profiteers have always existed—I just saw a news report about a listed company that rented a 12-seater jet for 200,000 € to fly from Muscat to Istanbul to repatriate its executives. That’s nearly 17,000 € per seat. Regular travelers won’t be finding a seat anytime soon.

Some airlines covered the first 3 nights with meals, then nothing more, others nothing at all from the start. One family was asked for 20,000 € to return from Thailand for 5 people—her, her husband, and their 3 sons. All the hotels at Phuket Airport are full of stranded travelers. She managed to find tickets through a friend in France to return on March 12, while her original return was scheduled for February 28. Entire families, couples, or individuals are blowing their budgets when they can.

Hello, For passengers stranded in the Middle East, the following applies only if the airline has its headquarters in the European Union (or, in the case of a connecting flight, if at least one flight segment does).

Even in extraordinary circumstances, the airline must cover accommodation and meal expenses until the re-routing flight, with no time limit. If they don’t, passengers can claim reimbursement by presenting receipts or invoices.

If the airline didn’t offer re-routing "as soon as possible"—which is clearly the case if the passenger bought their own ticket allowing them to reach their final destination a day earlier than the airline’s proposed re-routing—the passenger can claim reimbursement for the new ticket, provided they never requested a refund for the canceled ticket. It doesn’t matter if the new ticket has different layovers.

Furthermore, in the same situation and even with "extraordinary circumstances," if the flight was canceled less than 14 days before departure and the airline didn’t offer re-routing "as soon as possible" (since the passenger can prove, through their purchase, that an earlier re-routing was possible—allowing them to arrive at their final destination 1 day earlier or more), the airline is liable for compensation under Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 of the European Parliament and Council.

All the details are here: http://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com

Best regards,