UAE to cover hotel/meal costs for stranded passengers; airports resume service

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) says it will cover hotel stays and meals for more than 20,000 passengers stranded because of widespread airspace shutdowns.

The closures across the Middle East – brought on after a series of strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, followed by Iranian retaliation – have forced major UAE-based airlines, such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai, and Air Arabia, as well as international carriers, like Air Canada and many others, to cancel or reduce services.

This has left thousands of travellers unable to leave key hubs, including Dubai International Airport, Zayed International Airport, and Sharjah International Airport.

The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority confirmed Sunday (March 1) that the government is “bearing all hosting and accommodation costs for affected and stranded passengers,” reports Euronews.

Officials also instructed hotels to continue accommodating affected guests. In guidance issued by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, hotels were told:

“In light of the current circumstances and given that some guests have reached their check out date but are unable to travel for reasons beyond their control, you are kindly requested to extend their stay until they are able to depart,” and added, “The cost of the extended stay will be covered by DCT Abu Dhabi.”

READ MORE: Air Canada expands goodwill policy to seven cities in Middle East

Airlines are also providing passengers with options such as full refunds or complimentary rebooking.

Air Canada, for one, has extended its goodwill policy to seven cities in the Middle East: Abu Dhabi (AUH), Beirut (BEY), Amman (AMM), Erbil (EBL), and Dammam (DMM).

The airline has also suspended its Tel Aviv, Israel flights until March 8 and Dubai flights until March 3. 

Meanwhile, the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism has emailed hotels asking them to offer “the option to extend their stay under the same conditions as their initial booking,” according to Khaleej Times.

UAE airports reopen with limited service

The disruption, which led to some 3,400 flights being cancelled over the weekend, has spread beyond the UAE, also affecting countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq, where airports have imposed closures or restrictions.

Airlines from Europe and Asia have suspended some Gulf routes, and several governments (including Canada’s) have advised their citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to parts of the Middle East.

Dubai Airports had halted all flights at both Dubai International Airport (DBX) and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).

However, in an update shared Monday (March 2), the organization confirmed that “a limited resumption of operations” will begin tonight, with a small number of flights permitted to operate from DXB and DWC.

As reported, one concourse at Dubai International was damaged on March 1, injuring four staff members.

Emirates shared an update to its X account early Monday.

"We are accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority, and those who have been rebooked to travel on these limited flights will be contacted directly by Emirates. Please do not go to the airport unless you have been notified," the airline wrote. "All other flights remain suspended until further notice." 

Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, which recently saw an incident relating to an intercepted drone, also resumed limited service on Monday, reports say.

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