Emirates CEO Apologizes to Customers and Says the Airline Is Trying to Handle a 30,000 Bag Backlog
Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline, is still trying to return 30,000 remaining bags to customers affected by torrential rain and flooding that paralyzed Dubai Airport last week.
Over the weekend, the airline’s chairman, Tim Clark, acknowledged that Emirates’ response to the disruption had been “far from perfect” and apologized to customers.
“I would like to extend our sincerest apologies to all customers whose travel plans have been disrupted during this time,” Clark wrote in an open letter posted online Saturday.
Calling the previous week “one of the most difficult for Emirates operationally”, he said the airline had been forced to cancel almost 400 flights and delay many more after the storms caused the region’s highest rainfall in 75 years.
“Flooded roads prevented our customers, pilots, cabin crew and airport employees from reaching the airport, as well as the movement of essential supplies like meals and other flight amenities,” Clark wrote .
Cars are submerged in water on a busy road in Dubai. GIUSEPPE CACACE/Getty Images
A total of 1,478 flights were canceled the second busiest in the world airport Friday morning, according to Reuters.
While planes remained stuck on flooded taxiways, submerged roads surrounding the airport left some passengers stranded in the airport.
To accommodate disrupted passengers, Emirates said it had secured 12,000 hotel rooms and issued 250,000 meal vouchers.
Despite the chaos and a government warning for people to stay at home, Emirates flight attendants in Dubai were also told to report to work.
However, Clark acknowledged that many passengers had been frustrated by congestion, lack of information and confusion at the terminals.
In order to deal with the current consequences, he said a task force had been created to sort and return 30,000 remaining pieces of luggage to their owners.
The airline officially resumed regular flight operations at Dubai Airport on Saturday, but warned it would take several more days to clear the delay.
Non-UAE-based carriers still faced restrictions this weekend. Foreign airlines operating more than two flights in 24 hours have been issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) ordering them to reduce operations by 50%, Indian news agency PTI reported.
According to data from FlightRadar 24, all arrivals and departures went largely as planned on Monday morning.
The oil-rich United Arab Emirates has become one of the most attractive economic hubs in the Gulf region.
Its efforts to diversify its economy away from oil, centered around Dubai as a tourism hotspot, have helped position the country as a major player on the world stage. In a sign of its growing popularity, the number of passengers traveling through Dubai Airport increased by 31.7% last year.
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