At present, there are over half a million refunds requests pending…

As well as affecting normal life and businesses across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the travel industry into chaos over the past few months, with many flight cancellations.

On April 26, Emirates released a statement showing its commitment to all customers awaiting a refund on flight tickets, by ramping up its capability to process them.

At present, over half a million people are due to be refunded money on Emirates flights that they’ve been unable to use. The Dubai-based airline will increase its capacity to dealing with 150,000 refund requests per month.

Prior to the pandemic, Emirates dealt with up to 35,000 refund requests, so the jump to 150,000 is pretty significant. It intends to ‘clear its current backlog by early August’.

If you wish to apply for a refund or request a travel voucher, it can be done by filling out an online form on the Emirates website or by contacting your travel agent.

Currently, there are three options available to Emirates customers who have had their travel plans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Emirates recently extended the validity of tickets to 24 months, applicable on flights booked on or before June 2020 for travel before November 2020. This means you can simply leave your booking open and reschedule it when you’re ready to fly.

Alternatively, you can request a travel voucher to the same monetary amount as your flight, or request a refund on your flight ticket.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “It is a difficult time for us, as it is for all airlines. We are dipping into our cash reserves by being proactive in processing refunds, but it is our duty and responsibility.”

He added, “we would like to assure our customers and trade partners that we will honour refunds, and that we are doing our best to speed things up.”

emirates.com

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