emirates.com

Arrogant and dismissive

We booked two flights from Manchester to Dubai. Emirates emails encouraged us to look up their Covid advice. As the Covid rules were constantly changing we did this a number of times hoping the need to have PCR tests would be dropped. Every time we went to the Emirates Covid advice page it said in the first paragraph all passengers travelling to Dubai (including GCC people) should have documented negative PCR tests done within 72 hours of flying. We eventually arranged our PCR tests accordingly, got all the documentation together, went to the airport and were refused boardind on the grounds that our PCR tests were out of date. The web page was wrong. For UK passengers it was 48 hours but you had to read further down the web page to pick this up. The first paragraph was simply wrong and grossly misleading. I protested at the check-in desk but was dealt with harshly. Apparently a lot of passengers were falling foul of the same thing so they had a standard brutal line to take.We went across to Terminal 2 to have some more PCR tests done. On getting the results we could not enter our booking because of the No Show. We eventually managed to speak to someone on the booking line 10,000 miles away down a drainpipe to be told the extra costs of the night flight would be £960. This was the camel's straw. Thoroughly stressed out and angry we aborted and caught a £130 taxi home.At home we decided we still wanted to go on holiday so we booked some more flights the following day at an extra, now cost of £1048. I submitted a complaint and basically was given short drift, Emirates saying all passengers are responsible for the accuracy of their travel documents. Article 13 in the Ts and Cs. I agree with that but aren't Emirates responsable for the quality and correctness of their Covid advice?We've travelled with Emirates dozens of times over the years and at one time were Silver Members. But this experience leaves a very bad taste in our mouths. When Emirates gets things wrong it should be big enough to admit it, and deal with it. Very unimpressed.But having gone throught this experience I can say there is a reality gap in their customer service. It simply doesn't exist. There is no formal complaints procedure detailing the process, how to appeal and escalate, who to write to where. You can only communicate through their half-baked web system which is limited in characters and what you type disppears off the top of the small screen box you are offered. The whole thing is designed to prevent you complaining, or to obstruct you. They really are not interested in looking at what goes wrong and how they can improve. They are too quick to quote the Ts and Cs. Third world standards I am afraid.

Date of experience: Mar 15, 2022