Coronavirus: Emirates Ramps Up Ticket Refund Capability

Emirates has ramped up its capability to process refunds, reaffirming its commitment to customers and travel trade partners impacted by travel disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

With nearly half a million refund requests pending to manage, the airline said it has taken proactive steps to restructure its backend procedures and boost resourcing to accelerate the processing of refunds.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Emirates 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.

“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,” said Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline.

Emirates crew onboard wear a protective disposable gown over their uniforms and a safety visor in addition to masks and gloves.

Customers who wish to request travel vouchers or refunds can easily do so via an online form on Emirates’ website, or contact their travel booking agent for assistance.

Emirates offers 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. Emirates has extended this option to apply to any ticket booked on or before 30 June 2020, for travel on or before 30 November 2020.

– Exchange the unused portion of their tickets for a travel voucher equivalent to the amount paid for their original booking. The travel voucher can be utilised for any Emirates product or service, with no change fees, providing customers more flexibility to reschedule when they are ready to travel again.

– Refunds. Customers who have opted to keep their ticket or opted for a travel voucher can still apply for a refund, if they are unable to travel. There will be no refund penalties.

More information on Emirates’ waiver policy can be found at www.emirates.com/ae/english/help/covid-19/