Stranded passengers will now have to rely on the airline’s website and call centres

It has just been announced that all Qatar Airways offices in the UAE are to be shut down effective immediately, the news comes via a statement from the General Civil Aviation Authority.

The official statement reads as follows: “The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority has taken the decision to close all offices of Qatar Airways in the United Arab Emirates with immediate effect.”

*ALSO: Everything we know about the Qatar situation*

This comes after news of the airline announcing that it will cease all flights to and from the UAE as of June 6 due to the closure of UAE airspace to all Qatari aircraft.

Many passengers who hold tickets with Qatar Airways have been struggling to obtain any clear information on how to proceed with regards to refunds and alternative bookings and will now have to rely on the airline’s website or call centres as there will be no option to visit their offices in person within the UAE.

Note: Foreigners living in Qatar with residence visas will no longer be eligible for visas on arrival into the United Arab Emirates.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH REFUNDS?

There are a lot of people trying to rebook or refund Qatar Airways flights right now: around 52 of the 76 daily flights grounded over the ban are operated by Qatar.

Qatar Airways has said that “passengers holding a confirmed Qatar Airways ticket to any of the four [affected] countries between 05 June 2017 – 06 July 2017 are permitted to rebook their flights up to 30 days after their current confirmed departure date, one time free of charge.” They will also be eligible for a refund, however the service fee will be non-refundable.

In further clarification for those already half way through a return trip with the airline, Qatar explains on its website that “passengers will also be permitted to refund the unused portion of their tickets booked for the above period once, free of charge.” (But again, the service fee remains non refundable).

Note: The Qatar Airways call centre numbers in both Abu Dhabi (02 621 0007) and Dubai (04 229 2229) are clearly overloaded and so appear disconnected when calling. We’d advise only those travelling in the next month to call right now and for those with future plans to give it some time. People are – sporadically – able to get through.

Image: Getty