I'm doubting between choices...

I'm flying BRU-DXB-BKK-HKG-DXB-BRU in J in a few days, and since it's not yet 100% clear if the airport in BRU will be open, and if EK is flying to BRU, I can change my flights free of charge from/to AMS.

PROs
- I can leave the night before since AMS has a night flight to DXB, giving me an additional day at destination
- It's 5x A380 instead of 3x A380
- More chance of actually leaving than when flying from BRU these days

CONs
- EK refuses to pay for the train between BRU and AMS, even though European regulations oblige them to do so.
- My seat selections will be lost (I have even window seats on the A380) and those flights look very busy so I might be "stuck" on a couple seat in the middle.

If I don't decide now, I might be forced to change later to departure date with even less availability from AMS.

What would you do?

hard to tell if the airport is open till then (few days, closed until Monday)

however you can reroute your ticket and depart from any EU station, maybe DUS is an option (afternoon flight is 388) instead of AMS

I do not see that the airline is liable to pay for the transport to AMS if you choose in advance to rebook. If you get to Brussels and then involunatarily have to go to another airport, then it would be

I would be inclined to change the outbound flight to avoid risk. Seat selection would be a minor issue to me compared to risk of being stuck

I disagree with the first part. BRU airport is still closed and so it isn't voluntary to change airports. Fortunately there are several options flying EK.

I agree with the second part - the inconvenience of having to make last minute changes of plans and possibly not flying on the intended date would make it worthwhile, for me, to make the change now.

EU regulations don't include extraordinary events, so EK don't have to pay for travel between airports.

Yes it does cover extraordinary events

The only thing that is exempted in extraordinary situations is the requirement to pay delay/cancellation compensation

The passenger is not currently travelling - but planning to make the change in case the airport is still closed.

When the flight he is booked on is actually cancelled due to airport issue, then the airline will be liable to get him to the alternative airport. At the monent, from what I read in OP, the flight has not yet been cancelled

Even so, it seems to make much more sense to me to rebook whilst there is availability and be sure of getting to destination rather than holding out and potentially being significantly impacted

Being pragmatic for a moment - the cost of a single rail ticket between BRU and AMS is not very much compared with the cost of the rest of the itinerary in J. I would just sort a firm booking, cope with a centre seat (hardly a major issue in J in an A380) and submit a claim to EK for the train fare without too much emotional investment in the outcome.

You can check seat availability using Expert Flyer or Expedia without making a purchase if this is an issue.

BRU will open on Sunday 3rd of April (3 flights), so I assume EK will flying again on Tuesday/Wednesday

Thanks. I changed my flight to AMS. Indeed BRU will be open tomorrow for 3 SN flights, and gradually increasing the flight numbers to 20% for now. EK customer service told me they won't fly to BRU till 10 April at least.

Another question: anyone knows which lounge EK uses in AMS? It isn't mentioned on the website...

There is a lounge but it's a bad one-- take the vouchers they give you to spend in the airport...

Any recommendation for eating spots in the airport?

I've got a Schengen departure area visit and a non-Schengen area (with EK) in the next few weeks, and understand the two areas are kept seperate. I had already pretty much decided to go for the voucher on the EK one and you've just reinforced that.

Thanks for the advice. How do the vouchers work? Do you get additional if you have a guest? It turns out that when I changed my flights from BRU to AMS I will accidentally be on the same flight as a friend (she's flying Y so I was planning on guesting her in the lounge).

Personally I would make the change.