An OMAAT reader who asked to remain anonymous shared an interesting story with me, and I’m not sure what exactly the correct take is… I’m curious what others think.
Emirates passenger learns he’s banned after booking
Several weeks back, a family from the UK (husband, wife, and baby) booked Emirates tickets for a holiday in Dubai. Then around 24 hours before the flight, Emirates canceled the traveler’s booking, and sent him an email saying he is “not welcome to travel on any Emirates flight.”
As a result, he booked travel on another airline. He flew the outbound on mid-February and is still in Dubai, and as you’d expect, the situation has changed materially, with most European carriers canceling flights to Dubai. As a result, he desperately wants to get his family home, there’s only one issue… he’s still banned from Emirates.
He reached out to Emirates to ask if he could be accommodated in light of circumstances, and was told that the ban remains in place. In writing, the airline told him “we’re unable to accept your travel with Emirates at this time,” and the airline “apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.”
The traveler is now “simply trying to understand whether the airline’s response here is proportionate and whether there’s any reasonable way to resolve it.”
So, what did the traveler get banned over in the first place? He claims that the ban happened over two separate issues that date back years, explained as follows:
The first relates to an upgrade email. Shortly before travelling, I unknowingly interacted with a website that appeared to be related to Emirates and entered my details believing it was legitimate. An email later came through referencing an upgrade. The message appeared to form part of, or closely resemble, a genuine prior Emirates email thread from 2022, which is likely why Emirates concluded it had been altered. At the time, I believed it was a genuine Emirates communication. Only later, when I was asked to enter my card details to “secure” the upgrade, did I realise something was wrong and contact Emirates. Looking back, it appears this was part of a scam.
Separately, I had submitted a Best Price claim and included a screenshot from Expedia showing a lower fare. Emirates later alleged that this screenshot had been manually amended. My position is that I submitted what was shown to me at the time. Afterward, Expedia indicated that the displayed fare was likely a temporary pricing or system issue and also confirmed that fare and tax breakdowns can vary.
I’m not sure what the right take is in this situation?
On the one hand, airlines have the right to refuse transport to passengers, and it sounds like Emirates had reason for the ban. It seems like the airline should have informed him of the ban years ago when it happened, rather than only after booking another ticket a long time later.
Now, I don’t know the traveler who is having this issue personally, so I can only share his version of events, but can’t say with certainty whether they’re true or not. Did he really unwittingly have two separate issues with Emirates tickets, and neither was intentional? It absolutely could be true, but it sure seems unlikely.
Either way, there are unique circumstances here. While I wouldn’t say Dubai is “dangerous” right now (at least in terms of the known death toll), a lot of people are definitely uncomfortable, and there are a lot of missiles that have reached the city.
Many people are voluntarily leaving Dubai now, while others insist they’re sticking around, with that sort of cringe “we know who protects us” video. So I guess the question comes down to whether the current situation rises to the level of the airline reconsidering its ban list? It’s not like there’s no way to get out, though the other options are definitely more inconvenient. For example, they could take a bus to Muscat, and then fly from there.
It seems to me like the airline should probably make a one-time exception here, in light of circumstances. However, I also understand that airlines are big corporate structures and have a lot of policies and red tape, and I imagine Tim Clark’s first order of business right now isn’t “oh, let’s temporarily unban all the travelers who have been banned.”
Bottom line
An air traveler recently found out that he was banned by Emirates, after booking a ticket. The issue reportedly dates back several years. That’s all fine and dandy, as he booked a ticket on another airline. The problem is that he’s now stranded in Dubai with his family, with limited options to get out that don’t involve Emirates.
What do you make of this situation, and do you think Emirates should make an exception?
