UAE: Airlines Receive Over 670,000 Refund and Rebooking Requests
The UAE’s carriers have received more than 670,000 requests for refunds, ticket cancellations and inquiries since their aircraft were grounded because of international travel restrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Emirates, the largest international airline, on Sunday, April 26, said it has nearly 500,000 refund requests pending and, now, refund procedures have been ramped up.
Prior to the outbreak, the airline has processed an average of 35,000 refund requests in a month. Now, it is gearing up to handle 150,000 per month and aims to clear its current backlog by early August.
Since regular flights are not operational, the UAE carriers are offering passengers to either extend their tickets, get cash refund, or secure vouchers, which can be redeemed later to purchase tickets. The validity of these tickets and refunds range between six to 24 months.
