Earlier this year, Dubai had one of the wildest rainstorms ever, turning the city into a giant water park – including the airport! Chaos ensued, with tons of flights getting cancelled, causing a major travel headache for everyone.
Here’s a quick rundown of the Dubai flood drama:
- Our client was set to leave Sydney on April 18, headed for Dubai and then Amsterdam with Emirates. Her flight time changed twice and was eventually pushed to the next day.
- The connecting flight from Dubai to Amsterdam was overbooked. She could still fly to Dubai, but it would take some serious help from the ground staff to get her sorted.
- We swooped in and found a better flight from Sydney to Amsterdam a few days later – no extra cost, no fuss, and no dealing with Emirates on her own. We took care of it all!
Want to know the whole story? Buckle up for the drama!
Our client was all set to fly from Sydney to Dubai to Amsterdam on April 18 to visit her son. Her flight was supposed to take off at 8:15 PM, but at the crack of dawn (5 AM!), we got an email from Emirates saying it was pushed to 10 PM.
Sensing more delays might be on the way, my team checked our system and Emirates' site to confirm if the flight was still on. Meanwhile, I was stuck in a phone queue for half an hour, waiting to double-check with Emirates. Finally, they confirmed that the flight was still scheduled for 10 PM, and our client would make her connection to Amsterdam. We reassured her, letting her know we had everything under control.
But, plot twist! When she got to the airport, the check-in staff dropped the bombshell: her flight wasn’t going anywhere, and she’d have to call reservations for help. Not one to take no for an answer, I told her to go back and demand they rebook her. Sure enough, she was rebooked for the next day’s flight at 1 PM.
Our client took it all in stride – after all, with a flood like that, stressing out wasn’t going to help! I got back on the phone with Emirates, and after another 30 minutes on hold, they laid out three options:
- Get on the rescheduled flight and try her luck with the ground staff in Dubai (but no guarantees of making the Amsterdam flight or getting a hotel).
- Fly out on April 23, with one last economy seat available, and a free date change.
- Get a full refund – but it could take 3-6 months, and a new ticket was almost $4,000!
After chatting with our client, we agreed that Option 2 was the way to go – why risk getting stuck in Dubai or paying a fortune for a new ticket? By 7 PM, her new flight was booked, and she was all set to see her son in Europe!
All the drama, stress, and headaches? We handled them all, so she didn’t have to lift a finger!
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