Has anyone got a holiday booked to Dubai with emirates?

[Mesbee]

We have a holiday booked for the end of May this year. There is no way we would even consider going now (for obvious reasons). Even if things calmed down, we wouldn’t feel safe or comfortable travelling there.

I have tried to get in touch with Emirates but no-one answers the phone. I have also emailed but had no response. Is anyone else in this situation? What are our rights? we are obviously very relieved not to be stranded there like many others, so it could be worse. However it will definitely be a kick in the teeth to lose all of the money we have paid so far.

thanks xx

Wicked OP.

No, some good travel insurance will pay for cancellations if FCDO changes travel advice and says don’t travel regardless of reason. Ours does, it doesn’t even mention war anywhere in the policy.
It’s absolutely worth checking before assuming it doesn’t.

This was my first thought

It is utterly hypothetical because your rights, the thing you want to know about, will depend on the circumstances months from now. Whatever answer they would give you would depend on assumptions that cannot be proven anytime soon.

it isn’t hypothetical because we are willing to lose the deposit which under normal circumstances is all we should be charged for at this point. But if we are unable to cancel thanks to them removing the option from the website, we need to know what will happen. Either way we don’t want to travel there anymore for obvious reasons.

This really isn’t the case. They’re spending all their time trying to sort out the people who are stranded abroad or travelling in the next few days. This wasn’t anticipated and people are working around the clock. I’m sorry but this just isn’t a priority at the moment.

@PrincessofWellsOur booking to Thailand has been cancelled since writing this , we’ve been lucky to move our holiday to Jamaica .
thanks for your reply , with any luck we can try Thailand next year 😁

They have actively removed the option to cancel online. That’s nothing to do with helping people who are stranded.
Also read the whole thread before you comment about priorities 👍🏼

If youve decided you dont want to travel in any case, make sure you cancel by the date in your t and c's. Double double check it. Keep trying to cancel online, send an email, and save the sent email obviously. Personally I would also try to ring once a day, then screengrab the unanswered call. Just make sure its cancelled.
You can get your money back once things have calmed down.
If youre unable to cancel before balance due just save all info you have proving you tried to cancel. Dont pay your balance, obviously.
In future, never pay more than minimum deposit for any reason. Travel is so subject to change. Just keep the money aside if you must.

I think youll end up losing the deposit and thats it. It might take a while to get the extra you paid back.

I have read the whole thread. There’s no need to be rude. People are trying to be helpful.

They may have removed the option because they don’t have the capacity to deal with cancellations at the moment as all hands are on deck dealing with an emergency. You really have no idea how it works.

Some people have been very helpful. Others not so much.
Other companies have kept people in the loop/refunded people or let them change holidays (TUI being one of them). Everyone is going mad online about Emirates not being contactable. Even people who are flying in the next few days or are actually stuck in Dubai. So unless you work for Emirates (which i presume you don’t), you really have no idea what’s happening

Op may is two months away and so much could have changed by then. Just make sure you have travel insurance booked.

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Hope you can get some clarity on the situation and come to a resolution. Just ignore all the negative unhelpful comments. x

Thank you, i appreciate that ❤️

I think just give it time OP - they need to try and sort out the people there first and then hopefully will come back to you. Im pretty sure you will lose a chunk of what youve paid (if not all) as youre cancelling and not them - but im not sure, think wait and see if you hear back form them as you have some time yet.

If the OP amended her holiday destination, rather than cancelling, surely she wouldn’t lose anything?

I have an Emirates flight booked for this Wednesday to Sydney via Dubai. Still heard nothing from the airline and not expecting to till tomorrow.

Sorry to hear about your Dad

I have Emirates flights from UK / 3 nights Dubai hotel then onward transfer to Maldives booked slightly later than you. I've not looked to cancel or change yet, but I believe ALL emirates flights from UK go via Dubai. So even if you change your destination with Emirates, rather than cancelling - you'll still be going via Dubai.

I work in the industry so I do know what I’m talking about. Tui will be dealing with a number of passengers who are travelling through the Middle East, a fraction of their overall customer base. They don’t fly to Dubai, they use other carriers like Emirates so they don’t have the volume.

Emirates on the other hand are dealing with literally thousands of passengers using their airline who are flying through or to Dubai, many of whom are stranded or due to fly imminently. That’s a huge task and needs dealing with urgently.

They are not in the same position. I hope you get things sorted when they are able to deal with you. I won’t be commenting again.

We are due to fly to the Maldives via Dubai for Easter with travel bag (an Emirates company). I’m finding it stressful not knowing what’s happening but it’s over 3 weeks away, my only ‘hope’ is the foreign office still restrict travel ensuring Emirates refund it all but I doubt we’ll know until a few days before we are due to travel which is on one hand infuriating, the other ‘out of my hands’ so I’m trying not to stress.

What evidence do you have for believing this?

The CAA has published this which shows what your rights should be but it appears it only applies if flight is cancelled by them (or a departing flight out of UK delayed more than 5 hours). The FCDO / US etc travel warnings are separate and don't directly oblige them to refund or not fly. I can still get the refund form online (link from Emirates on x is one route) but it says I agree to pay cancellation charges on it.

www.caa.co.uk/newsroom/news/middle-east-passenger-travel-advice-1-march-2026/

We are in the same situation. We have a holiday to Dubai booked for the end of may and the final payment is due next week. I tried to cancel on the Emirates app (and lose my deposit) but the option to cancel has disappeared. I’m happy to lose my deposit and book somewhere else as I know I won’t feel comfortable taking my children to Dubai in May (even if it is ‘safe’). However, £9000 is due to come out of our account next week and I don’t want to lose all that money!

@Toetouchingtitties

I believe ALL emirates flights from UK go via Dubai. So even if you change your destination with Emirates, rather than cancelling - you'll still be going via Dubai.

Correct, and not just from the UK..

Their (and the other Gulf carriers) whole operation is structured with the relevant Gulf airport as a hub.

It's all to do with route licences and a thing called Freedoms of the Air.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedoms_of_the_air