Just received an email from Emirates. Our Flight LHR-DXB tonight (EK004) has been cancelled.

No re-routing information yet. We had a paid upgrade offer (to Business) from an email offer. The issue is that the timing of the flight was arranged to (a) allow my wife and I a holiday and (b) also allow me to do meetings that I needed to do UK time each day this week.

So questions:
- Does EU261 (or the UK updated version apply)
- What do I do to ensure that I am not "in the air" UK time tomorrow morning or Thursday morning?

Thanks in advance. Has been so long since I have looked at EU261, and usually I fly BA.

The short answer is reroute or refund. I suspect you'll want the former so have options available for them.

Can't comment on EU 261.

Call them and see if they can put you on the flights that work for you.

This is the reason your EK4 is cancelled.


Emirates made the decision to cancel this evening�s EK4 from London to Dubai. The flight was scheduled to depart at 8:40PM, and arrive in Dubai at 9:35AM on Wednesday.

Instead the crew that was scheduled to operate EK4 will instead operate EK216, allowing for a crew change, and a seamless transition for passengers (well, as seamless as it can be while double diverting).

​​​​​​https://onemileatatime.com/news/emir...diverts-twice/

The Duty of Care parts of EU261 will apply (hotel etc.). However, it does sound like this is a real "Exceptional Circumstances", so they'll probably get away without paying compensation.

As there a quite a few LHR flights per day, you should be able to get moved to a flight that means you're not in the air during the morning.

This was due to EK216 LAX-DXB being diverted to Toronto for medical emergency and then diverted to LHR due to the crew not having enough duty time left to fly all the way to Dubai.
Instead the crew that was scheduled to operate EK4 will instead operate the continuation of EK216.

I would get on the phone and ask can you be rebooked onto EK6, normally EK6 is a 777 however today it is being run by a A380. I did notice EK2 was a different aircraft then usual and it seems instead of running EK4 it is going to run EK6 and take half the passangers from EK4 with them.

EK006 was full apparently. EK002 was not full BUT apparently did not have adequate fare buckets to transfer my business class fare too (and it would have been a nippy trip round the M25 to make that flight).

Thanks. Its been so long since i have looked at EU261, was there not a ruling that where Flight A has exceptional circs (i.e. the LA-DXB flight) and that impacts on Flight B (LHR-DXB) that the airline cannot rely on exceptional circumstances to support cancellation of Flight B?

Emirates customer service said they would not even pay the hotel cost, so will see what comes of it.

Thanks for your replies everyone.

Had it not been for the Skype Calls today I would have logged on here earlier and made the connection and replied earlier. I think the fact EK refused to rebook you onto EK6 actually makes your case for compensation stronger. So exceptional circs resulted in the cancellation but EK could have rebooked you onto EK6 with a 2 hour delay which would have been acceptable but refused to do so.

I would put in a claim with them and highlight they refused to rebook, either they issue the comp or put in a MOL claim, I think a court would say they had the option to accomodate and refused.

Edit - the kick in the teeth seems to be EK decided to label the diverted flight as EK4 on flight tracking so it would show as a delay on any tracking app!