Emirates airline CEO issues apology following flood chaos in Dubai

The CEO of Emirates airline sent a letter of apology to customers over the weekend historic rain in the United Arab Emirates cause record flooding and chaos at Dubai airport.

Hundreds of flights were canceled and thousands of customers were stranded.

“I want to send my sincerest apologies to every customer whose travel plans have been disrupted during this time,” company director Tim Clark wrote in a letter posted on the airline’s website today. Saturday.

“We know our response is far from perfect. We acknowledge and understand customer frustration caused by congestion, lack of information and confusion in the stations. We acknowledge that long lines and wait times are unacceptable.”

While the airline’s service center at Dubai Airport remains open, “flooded roads have hindered the ability of our customers, pilots, cabin crew and airport staff to get to the airport, as well as travel to the airport.” delivery of essentials such as meals and other flight amenities,” Clark wrote.

He said the airline diverted dozens of flights on Tuesday as the worst of the storm raged and “over the next three days, we had to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay many more, because of Our focus remains challenged by staffing and supply shortages.”

Emirates on Wednesday issued a notice urging travelers not to go to the airport, except in emergencies. It also suspended check-in for those intending to fly out of Dubai, banned ticket sales and suspended connecting flights from other cities to Dubai, leaving some passengers stranded around the world. .

Social media was flooded with angry posts from customers who said they received no help from Emirates staff and were unable to contact anyone at the company.

“12 hours waiting on a canceled flight and 6 hours waiting at this desk with people passing out, fighting and trying to stay awake and absolutely no contact from Emirates,” one Instagram user posted load, along with a photo showing a packed crowd in front of the Emirates. screen at Dubai airport. The timestamp on the photo is 7:05 a.m. Friday.

Another traveler told CNBC via social media: “It took me 48 hours to get from London to Baghdad via Dubai. Five hours on the tarmac on the plane.” [in Dubai], for an hour no one opened the bridge gate. I found my own way out… found a hotel and then came back, waiting 12 hours. Got on the flight and they served us almonds!”

Some people said they were stuck at the airport for more than 20 hours, while others, stranded in foreign cities and connecting airports, said they had to book their own tickets home after not receiving them. Get any help from Emirates.

Clark said his staff did their best to cope with the unprecedented situation and it was “full support for thousands of other employees across the organization to get our operations back on track.” right direction.”

The CEO wrote that the airline “deployed more than 100 volunteer staff to care for customers experiencing disruption at Dubai Airport departures and in the transit area, prioritizing medical cases , the elderly and other vulnerable travelers.” He added that more than 12,000 hotel rooms were provided to customers in Dubai, as well as 250,000 meal vouchers issued.

As of Saturday, Emirates’ regular flight schedule has been restored. In the letter, Clark said the airline still has more than 30,000 pieces of luggage that need to be returned to customers.

“We have formed a task force to classify, collate and deliver about 30,000 pieces of abandoned luggage to their owners,” he said, adding that “it will take us a few more days further to resolve the backlog of passengers and rebooked baggage.” ” and asked for “patience and understanding” from customers.

Clark concluded by pledging to improve the airline’s processes and thanked his staff for their work, as well as offering “our apologies to each and every customer affected by the disruption This”.