Emirates extends refund policy to any tickets booked before May

The Dubai airline has simplified its rebooking terms and extended its refund policy

Emirates has simplified its rebooking policy and extended the option of a refund to all tickets booked by May 31, 2020. Emirates

Emirates has extended its refund policy to apply to all ticket holders who booked flights before Sunday, May 31, for travel before Monday, August 31.

Travellers who no longer wish to fly, or or are unable to do so, can apply for a refund online, using Emirates' updated refund request form. The airline is advising passengers that there will be a delay in processing refunds because of a backlog of requests.

Previously, the option of a refund was available only to travellers with tickets to countries in which flight suspensions or travel restrictions because of Covid-19 were in place.

Travellers can also request refunds on fees paid for seat selection and lounge access.

Retain ticket for two years to lock in original fare

Travellers can also opt to keep their existing tickets. No action is needed now for people choosing this option. Instead passengers can inform Emirates when they are ready to rebook their flight.

This option gives passengers two years from the original booking date in which tickets can be used. It also guarantees the same fare on any new date of travel, as long as there is availability.

Travellers who keep their tickets can also change their destination, as long as it is within the same Emirates region.

For example, if you have a ticket that was originally booked for New York but you would now like to fly to Chicago, you can do so and there will be no additional fare to pay.

Emirates operates across nine regions: the Gulf and the Middle East and Iran, Africa, Australasia, Europe, the Far East, the Indian Ocean, North America, South America and West Asia.

Travel vouchers can be used more than once

Emirates also offers passengers the option of requesting a travel voucher for unused tickets. Valid for 12 months from the date of issue, this validity can then be extended for a second year.

The voucher can be used to pay for any Emirates product or service, meaning it can be put towards future bookings of flights, upgrades and lounge access. It can also be used in as many transactions as required until its value is reached.

These simplified rules are set to make the rebooking process easier for Emirates passengers.

“We sincerely hope that our customers will choose to rebook and fly with us again at a later time, and that is why we’re offering up to two years’ validity on their current tickets, or travel vouchers,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ chief commercial officer.

“However, if they would still like to opt for a refund we will process that. We would just like to seek our customers’ understanding that refunds will take time as we have a significant backlog to manage,” he said.

You can find out more about airlines' cancellation policies here.