British travellers are facing severe disruption as they try to return from the United Arab Emirates amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.
Recent Iranian strikes in response to US and Israeli attacks have led to widespread flight cancellations and airspace closures over the Emirates, leaving thousands of Britons stranded.
During my latest Ask Me Anything live Q&A, readers asked urgent questions about their rights and options. Many wanted to know whether airlines such as British Airways, Qatar Airways and Etihad are obliged to reroute passengers on alternative carriers, provide accommodation, or simply issue a refund.
I explained that UK and EU passenger rights provide strong protection for journeys beginning in the UK, but for flights starting elsewhere – or operated by non-European carriers – rights are often limited, and travel insurance may be essential.
Other questions focused on package holidays, with reassurance that proper bookings offer full protection if travel is cancelled or restricted.
Readers also asked whether it makes more sense to wait for airlines to restore routes or book expensive alternatives themselves. My advice: hold onto tickets, keep receipts, and be flexible – airlines may eventually provide a route home or cover expenses. Your ticket has more value demonstrating the fact that you are trying to get home.
With airspace closures, rising costs and uncertainty over schedules, Britons in the Gulf will need patience and careful planning for their return journeys.
Here’s some of your questions – and my answers from the Q&A:
Q: My friend is flying back from New Zealand via Dubai to Stansted this week. Any advice?
Cass
A: So many people are in this situation, and it is miserable. Were there just a little bit of disruption, it might have been worth taking the refund and rebooking – but the surge of demand from disappointed travellers is pushing fares sky high.
Have no doubt that Emirates appreciates the scale of disruption and wants to put things right. But trying to re-organise the flight plans for 250,000 people per day is one heck of an undertaking. Urge your friend to keep all receipts, because Emirates may well say it will meet claims. But at the same time your friend should be frugal, just in case nobody is interested in refunding them.
Q: I’m flying Emirates to Australia in a fortnight. Will they rebook on another carrier avoiding the Middle East, or only offer later dates? Should I take a refund?
Hana2015
A: “Later dates on their own aircraft” is my firm understanding.
Only take a refund if it is in full and allows you to buy a confirmed ticket on a different airline for much the same amount of cash.
Q: I booked BA to Perth via Singapore, returning with Qatar via Doha – all through BA. If there’s disruption, do BA have to look after me? Should I wait before booking another flight myself?
Anonymous
A: I think this is going to become a bit of a theme during this period of disruption: booking flights with one airline, which are then operated by another.
Going outbound from the UK, all passengers enjoy the very valuable protection provided by air passengers’ rights rules: if a flight is cancelled, the airline must find you an alternative without extra charge; while you are waiting to reach your destination, it must provide accommodation and meals; and if the cancellation or long delay is the airline’s fault, then it must pay you compensation.
No one is seriously suggesting that compensation is an issue here. But recompense for extra expenses certainly is. For flights that begin outside the UK and the EU, you must be booked on a British or European airline. If this is the case, then you are well protected. But crucially, what counts is the airline that is actually doing the flying. If it is Qatar Airways “metal”, to use the jargon (in other words, a Qatar Airways plane), then the airline is off the hook. British Airways has no obligation either. Having said that, I think it is most unlikely that these points will be significant a month from now.
Let’s hope that the situation calms down, and that the Gulf takes back its rightful place at the heart of world travel. If, though, I am wrong and the region’s current status as a battleground continues, I think BA will have found you an alternative way home before you fly out to Singapore.
Q: I’m stranded in Melbourne after my Qatar/BA flight was diverted. BA say they can’t rebook me on any airline and are offering a refund. What are my options?
Anonymous
A: This is a real-time example of the very unbalanced air passenger rights rules I mentioned just now. Unfortunately, since Australian air passenger rights rules are almost non-existent, airlines can do what they want. And say what they want, such as: “No, we can’t book you on that airline,” or “Goodness, it’s more than 32 hours since the flight.”
But I urge you not to take a refund. Airlines love cancellations in the case of really extreme disruption, because it manages down the problem at little cost to the carrier. Better to hang on to the ticket and hope that eventually they come up with an alternative journey for you.
Q: I’ve booked a package holiday with Emirates Holidays to Dubai. If flights run but the FCDO advises only essential travel, will I get a refund?
Anonymous
A: Congratulations on getting the highest level of consumer protection by buying a proper package holiday.
Either the holiday goes ahead (which is my expectation) or you get a full refund. A legitimate holiday company will not send people to a destination that is on the no-go list. So you would expect a more or less instant refund.
Q: If my Qatar flight from the UK to Hanoi is cancelled, are they responsible for rerouting me or just refunding me
Anonymous
A: When you are beginning an independent journey in the UK, the airline that takes your booking has plenty of responsibility for you – and, in the case of a cancellation, you can expect a full refund.
But don’t settle for getting your money back. There are various different ways of getting to Hanoi, and if some of them are more expensive, that is a problem for the airline that cancelled the flight, not you. I fear, though, that Qatar Airways is not about to start bypassing its hub.
Q: Emirates cancelled our return from Bali via Dubai. Are we due more than a refund – and will insurance cover accommodation and new flights?
Anonymous
A: Again, please don’t take a refund – your ticket has more value demonstrating the fact that you are trying to get home.
The insurance issue is difficult. Tim Riley, managing director of The True Traveller, told me: “For inbound journeys on Qatar, Emirates, etc., they are not strictly obliged under UK261 to provide accommodation or delay expenses. That said, it’s still advisable to ask travellers to retain all receipts and submit them to the airline for reimbursement. Both Qatar and Emirates have paid in previous large-scale disruptions, although not always willingly. For example, when Qatar airspace was closed last June, Qatar Airways did cover passenger expenses.”
Tim adds: “In terms of travel insurance, it depends entirely on the policy wording and whether the traveller has taken out the ‘Travel Disruption’ extension. The airline should always be approached first. If they issue a blanket refusal, then the insurance policy should be reviewed carefully and a claim submitted.”
Q: If you were due to fly to Abu Dhabi this week, would you take a refund?
Anonymous
A: I happen to be flying to Abu Dhabi 10 days from now, so I have some skin in the game. I am 90 per centr confident that the flights will go ahead as planned. Because it is clear that any travel company will need to issue a full refund quickly, I suggest you hang around for a day or so. Of course, you may not want to go, but that is contingent on the level of Foreign Office advice on the day you are booked to travel. So I suggest that, if you can, you leave the decision as late as possible. But once again, you are more of a nuisance with a valid ticket than without one.
Q: We’re stranded in south India after an Etihad cancellation. Is it sensible to sit tight and wait to be rebooked
Anonymous
A: Yes: your strategy looks right. Like Emirates, Etihad wants to do the right thing by its customers. At least you are in a low-cost part of the world, and I hope with the time and flexibility to make the most of an unexpected longer stay.
Q: We’re due to go to Jordan in April. Flights booked directly with Royal Jordanian. Should insurance cover us if we go, or if we back out?
Julia
A: I think there is an extremely strong likelihood that your flight and holiday will go ahead as planned. While Amman is being mentioned in the same breath as all the Gulf territories (by British Airways), Jordan is a land apart that is kind to visitors and has few of the problems besetting its neighbours to the east and north.
The fact that you have booked flights direct means that, if they take off, you have no claim against any holiday company if things don’t go according to plan.
Insurers will generally not cover you to go to somewhere on the no-go list – but conversely most airlines will respect the passenger’s sudden disinclination to travel and offer you a refund. Claiming from insurance is always a last resort, but if your airline really is saying: “We want to fly you into a danger zone,” then I think you would have a claim against the insurer.
Q: How will rerouting affect direct flights to Singapore?
andyhooen
A: Singapore flights from the UK are keeping pretty much to schedule: most carriers displaced from the Gulf are flying over Afghanistan and Pakistan instead. Air India is one exception.
Q: I’m booked to fly Japan with Emirates via Dubai. How likely is it they’ll reroute flights, and should I wait for cancellation before rebooking elsewhere?
Anonymous
A: You should not need to request a refund and rebook with another airline. This is the airline’s problem, not yours. Having said that, I am 90 per cent confident that your trip will go ahead as planned. All I would say in that scenario is: the current flight path is extremely long, meandering all across central Asia, so take plenty of reading material.
These questions and answers were part of an ‘Ask Me Anything’ hosted by Simon Calder at 2pm GMT on Monday 3 March. Some of the questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the original article.
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