Travel expert Simon Calder issued the update as travel disruption continues
A travel expert has issued an update for passengers with flights booked on Etihad, Emirates, or Qatar Airways. Journalist Simon Calder has been covering the situation extensively since US and Israeli strikes commenced on February 28.
Broadcasting from Abu Dhabi Airport, he provided an update on flights operated by three major Middle Eastern carriers – Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar Airways. Services remain heavily disrupted as US-Israeli military action continues and Iran launches retaliatory strikes throughout the region.
Mr Calder suggested there was a strong likelihood that Emirates flights – particularly those departing from Dubai International Airport – would resume more quickly than other airlines and airports in the area. In a video posted on Instagram, Mr Calder responded to a viewer who asked: “So Etihad seem to be lagging behind in relation to current operational flights compared with Emirates. Why do you think this is?”
He replied: “I think maybe more of a kind of commercial imperative both at Dubai International and at Emirates, the airline. They’re run by very people who are very keen to move people around. I wouldn’t necessarily put Etihad and Qatar Airways in that category at the moment.”
Dubai International, typically the world’s busiest airport, processing over 250,000 passengers daily, was forced to close in the early hours of Monday (March 16) following a drone strike on a nearby fuel tank. Numerous Emirates flights already airborne were rerouted, whilst others awaiting departure were scrapped and five services from UK airports turned back to where they’d started.
The grounding of flights also impacted thousands of travellers who were desperate to finally get back to the UK after being stuck in the Middle East – or other parts of the globe where UK flights connect through the region – since the beginning of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran. All seven Emirates services from Dubai to London Heathrow on Monday were axed.
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Speaking from Abu Dhabi Airport, Mr Calder continued: “As you can tell, this isn’t the busiest airport in the world and just really a handful of passengers going through. That’s basically because Etihad along with Emirates has greatly reduced the number of flights.
“Emirates, of course, based in Dubai. Qatar Airways is sort of running an operation, but it’s mostly doing some interesting rescue flights from Bangkok to Manchester, for instance, rather than actually having a coherent network.
“But you could buy a ticket on Etihad for the flight I am currently taking, and it’s about one third of the price compared with itineraries which don’t include going against Foreign Office advice.”
