Emirates Airlines President Tim Clark announced that as of Saturday morning, all regular flights have returned to normal operations, and passenger bookings from the transit area at the airport are now on their way to their destinations. According to Clark, the carrier formed a task force to sort, collect, and deliver around 30,000 pieces of luggage to their owners. He clarified that due to these circumstances, it will take several days to completely address the effects of this exceptional situation.
This week was noted as one of the toughest times for Emirates Airlines' operations after the UAE faced unprecedented weather conditions. Clark apologized to all customers who were affected by these circumstances, which disrupted their travel plans during this period. He mentioned that a severe storm hit the UAE on April 16, resulting in record rainfall levels not seen in 75 years, impacting various aspects of life across different regions. He stated that the main hub in Dubai remained open 24/7, albeit with reduced flight operations for safety reasons; however, the flooding on roads hindered customers, pilots, crew members, and ground staff from reaching the airport, in addition to affecting the movement of essential supplies like meals and other travel necessities.
To mitigate the impact of the adverse weather conditions on Tuesday, the airline rerouted dozens of flights and had to cancel approximately 400 flights over the following three days, while many others were delayed. Operations at the main hub continued to be impacted due to staff and supply shortages. Clark emphasized that priorities focused on two main pillars: caring for customers whose travel plans were affected and restoring operations to normal.
He highlighted that in line with their efforts to achieve these priorities in providing resources and handling affected customers, they had to take temporary measures, including suspending check-in procedures from Dubai, halting ticket sales, and pausing connecting flights to Dubai through their network destinations. Additional resources were allocated to assist teams at the airport and call centers in reconfirming bookings, and they launched extra flights to destinations where a significant number of affected customers were identified.
More than 100 volunteers from their staff participated in supporting affected customers in the departure halls at Dubai Airport and in the transit area, prioritizing medical cases, the elderly, and other travelers most impacted. To date, over 12,000 hotel rooms have been secured to accommodate affected customers in Dubai, along with more than 250,000 meal vouchers, and substantial amounts of drinking water, blankets, and other necessities.
He noted that behind the scenes, thousands of employees across all departments worked diligently to restore operations to normal. He acknowledged that their response was not perfect and understood the frustration customers experienced due to congestion, lack of information, and confusion at the terminals. He also recognized that the long queues and wait times were unacceptable. While affirming their commitment to providing exceptional services to customers, they have learned from the experiences of the past few days to rectify issues and improve operations.
Clark commended the team’s efforts across all departments, suppliers, and partners for their relentless work around the clock this week, despite the difficult circumstances, to support customers and return operations and regular flights to normal.
