Passengers reported the refusal of Arab and international airlines and electronic reservation sites to return the value of their tickets, after their travel was canceled due to the repercussions of the newly created Corona virus globally.

They told Emirates Today that these companies insisted on keeping the ticket values ​​and not refunding them, while obliging travelers to book during a year, using the value of the ticket while paying the difference in price when booking the new or obtaining a ticket for the value of the tickets, despite the travelers' refusal of both options.

Officials with travel and tourism offices confirmed that this situation is illegal and companies are not entitled to refuse to return tickets' values, especially as the crisis is global, and that travel is not due to reasons beyond the control of travelers, as most airports have closed their doors to travelers.

They attributed the companies position to the financial conditions of the airlines, which do not have sufficient liquidity, as the liquidity of some companies is few enough for only three months due to the current conditions.

5 tickets

In detail, Ashraf Ammar said that he booked five tickets for him and his family to spend vacation in his homeland in late March on an Arab airline, through one of the websites, but he was unable to travel due to the conditions of Corona's spread (as 19), and the closure of airports, including state airports. , Who would have been vacationing. He added that he demanded a refund of the value of the tickets without interest, as the airline informed him that it had nothing to do with returning the value of the reservation, and that he should try to recover the value of the ticket from the site from which he booked, while the site insisted that the value of the reservation be not refunded (about 14 thousand dirhams) , And give him the option to travel to any destination of his choice within a year while paying the price difference.

Closed airports

Ali Mesbah indicated that he booked tickets for his family to travel to an Arab country next May, and when he found that most airports were still closed, he requested a refund of the price of tickets, so the Arab Airlines informed him that this option is not on the table, and that he has two options: The first is to change the ticket to an appointment Another paid the difference, and the second took a year-old purchase card. Mesbah demanded the return of his money, especially since it is a large sum, and he is in urgent need of it under the current circumstances.

Hoda Mohamed Khaled confirmed that she and her family could not travel to the European destination that was booked on one of the international airlines, to spend a vacation in the current month of April, due to the current circumstances and the closure of most airports, explaining that the company refused to return the ticket values, and informed her that she would give her a voucher for the reservation value , So that you can travel using it to any destination during a year, while paying the difference in the value of the ticket, confirming its rejection of this option, especially as it obliges it to travel with the company itself.

Reservation of the reservation

For his part, CEO of Nirvana Travel, Alaa Al-Ali, said, “A number of airlines refuse to return the reservations money, even though this procedure is not legal, as companies are not entitled to refuse to refund tickets, especially since the crisis is global, and most - if not It is - all major airports closed their doors to travelers. "

Al-Ali pointed out that «travelers suffered in many countries of the world, and not only the Emirates from this situation», explaining that «the financial conditions of airlines are harsh and do not have sufficient liquidity, as the liquidity of some companies is few, and three months are sufficient because of the current conditions» .

He noted that airlines are trying to persuade travelers to accept not to return the reservation values ​​for allowing passengers to benefit from the price of the ticket within a period of up to two years, not one year, as usually happens as a incentive measure.

He pointed out that travel and tourism agencies have already negotiated with airline companies and were able to return the reservation funds to travelers in case the reservation was through these agencies, while some airlines have refunded the value of tickets in cases of reservations through them or through their websites and other companies have abstained, and there are many Complaints related to reservations via websites.

Airlines

For his part, Salah Al-Kaabi, CEO of “Bavaria Holidays” said, “Several airlines and electronic reservations sites have refused during the past period to allow travelers to recover their money on the basis that it be used in future reservations.” He added that this position is illegal and the traveler has the right Recovering the reservation funds completely, especially in such emergency circumstances that imposed on the traveler certain conditions, indicating that there are difficulties in dealing with the reservation sites, especially the global sites as they are not licensed in the Emirates.

And two officials at two airlines agreed that companies should make all options available to travelers, because the issue is not related to the specific circumstances of the traveler alone, but rather to the conditions of a global outbreak of the Corona epidemic, which led to travel bans and airport closures in most countries of the world.

The two officials, apart from not publishing their names, stated that the financial conditions of the various airlines in the world are very difficult in light of the cessation of operations and the continuation of some high costs, especially those related to employment and others.

Submit complaints

The Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy, Dr. Hashem Al-Nuaimi, asked travelers who suffer from non-refunds of tickets to send complaints to the Ministry for research and to take appropriate legal measures regarding them.

He stressed that the websites in general are within the control of the Ministry, as many of the websites that committed violations were previously blocked, and they carried out practices that conflict with the rights of consumers.

Salah Al-Kaabi:

"Non-refunds of tickets are illegal, and it is the traveler's right to fully recover them."

Alaa Al-Ali:

"The financial conditions of the airlines are harsh, and they do not have enough cash."