Booked a trip with Emirates? Airline announces good news about refunds for its customers
The airline pledged to “ramp up” its refunds capability.
If you're still mourning that summer trip booked with Emirates that will probably have to be postponed, here's something to lift your mood. Emirates has announced it is increasing its efforts to process the flood of refund requests it received in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and plans to clear its current backlog by August.
Emirates is offering three options to its customers affected by flight cancellations and travel restrictions: Simply keep their existing ticket for up to 24 months, and call to reschedule their flight when they are ready to fly; Exchange the unused portion of their tickets for a travel voucher equivalent to the amount paid for their original booking; or opt for a refund.
The airline said in a statement that it currently has around half a million refund requests to manage. Before the pandemic, Emirates processed an average of 35,000 refund requests in a month, and is now gearing up to handle 150,000 per month. In order to do this, it has taken proactive steps to restructure its back-end procedures and boost resourcing to accelerate the processing of refunds.
Emirates Airline President Sir Tim Clark said “It is a difficult time for us, as it is for all airlines. We are dipping into our cash reserves by being proactive in processing refunds, but it is our duty and responsibility. We would like to assure our customers and trade partners that we will honour refunds, and that we are doing our best to speed things up.”
Customers who wish to request travel vouchers or refunds can do so via this online form, or contact their travel booking agent for assistance.