Cancelled a return leg consisting of a LAX-DXB-MNL trip all in F as EK did not operate and asked me to rebook over a week later (which btw also ended up not being operated, I checked)
Full cost of tkt around 9.5k with amex travel, incl 500 usd change fee i later paid for the return leg
Travel booked and canceled with Amex Travel (Cent) over 3 weeks ago (Ek refused to cxl with me directly)
No refund and no update to Amex about it yet

Cancel window now until May 31.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...552ca95a3f.jpg

Just cancelled my MEL X/DXB LON /-FRA DXB MEL in O class with outbound on 6 May. Let's see how it goes. Tickets have been cancelled almost immediately, did not hear back other than the confirmation of request for refund.

Was booked together with Dubai experience - accommodation is apparently going to be refunded, but not some activities (e.g. At The Top Burj Khalifa).

They say it can take up to 15 days, but my entire air fare for London STN - DXB, for an overnight stopover, DXB - AKL - STN, was refunded on the 9th day from when I received the confirmation e-mail. Mind you, I didn't pay for any extras.

Posting to provide some data on a booking made through American Express - and not directly through Emirates. Scheduled to travel JNB-DXB-BOS on 9 May. Called into Amex this morning to cancel in light of the updated guidance. The agent could not do it online so called Emirates. He was told that a refund was not possible because the flights were still scheduled. He volunteered to call again and push; of course, I said yes. On the second call, he confirmed that a refund (less nonrefundable taxes ???) would be granted. We proceeded to cancel. Total time on the phone was 29 minutes. Within 10 minutes of the end of the call, booking disappeared from Emirates site. He said refund would be seen from Amex in 1-2 billing cycles - which seems long but I guess not surprising. Very good agent. Hopefully, everything goes through as promised.

I think that the moral of this story is to make a booking directly with the airline and the entire fare will be refunded....under the current circumstances.
When I completed my refund application online, under the reason for cancellation I typed : "INVOL due to the current situation in The Middle East."
To be honest I was half expecting £200 to be retained by EK, because there was a cancellation fee of £200 in the fare's T's & C's.
Imagine my surprise when the whole lot was refunded.

True - I subscribe to that approach nearly always. But, this was an expensive first class ticket paid partly with points so worth the risk - not that a war was one of the risks I factored into the calculus.

Their waiver terms don't currently state any book by date. Can you book a flight today through May 31 and request a full refund if you decide not to travel?

Anyone else?
 

Sorry for the long message!



I had a booking ARN–DXB in Business Class in early April. I followed the advice here and submitted the refund form (thanks for that). Originally the booking was Business outbound and Economy return, but I upgraded the return to Business in the app about a week later. The flights were booked in April 2025.



About 11 days after submitting the refund form, I received an email confirming a full refund for me and my wife. My son’s confirmation email arrived two days later, which was fine.



However, when the refunds reached my credit card, they only covered the upgrade amounts for me and my wife, less than 40% of the total amount stated in the email and what I actually paid. I waited a couple of days, then my son’s refund arrived, but again only for the Economy → Business upgrade, not the rest of the ticket value.



I then called Emirates. After 30+ minutes on hold, I finally got through. The agent initially insisted the refund had already been processed, but after a long discussion they realized that the residual value mentioned in the Emirates email had not been refunded. They said they would resolve it as soon as possible.



Now more than a week later, nothing further has been refunded, and it’s a significant amount of money. I called again today. A new agent, same explanation all over again, and they couldn’t even see that a case had been opened. They promised to start a new case.



Honestly, I’m getting pretty fed up. I’ve been a Gold member for over 8 years, but experiences like this make me question staying loyal.



Has anyone else experienced something similar with refunds?

In my case, a cancellation penalty was deducted from the refund. I made several follow-ups via chat and also sent an email to [email protected]. The remaining amount was returned nine days after the initial refund was sent to my card.

Mine was in the same cabin, but without any discounts to go towards the fare. It was all the way from London STN to AKL and back. Even booked a one night's stay at an airport hotel in DXB. Had all those cars sorted too, but when HM Gov't advised against all but essential travel to the UAE, that was the end of my trip. I was gutted....A 17 hour flight to Auckland is really quite something.
The hotel in DXB wasn't prepared to offer me a refund, but that was peanuts in the grand scheme of things. I'm just thankful that I got the entire air fare back.

Thank you for posting this data point. I came to this thread to ask for advice. I have a booking made with a travel agent for travel at the end of April, within the cancellation window. I contacted the travel agent this week who came back saying that it was not possible to cancel the flights without penalty because they were still scheduled. I will contact them again and ask them to call Emirates.

For those wondering why I booked with a travel agency, it’s because I was able to get some very significant benefits by booking using this travel agency that is linked to the employee benefits scheme from my employer.

Finally had the 50K miles redeposited which I had used (from my account) to upgrade mrs t from YFlex+ to J on a flight early March we had cancelled. Cash refund took about 12 days, but to get the miles back took 25 working days plus 4 live chats with very friendly and helpful agents. Now finally back in the account so all good. Had one CPT/DXB/LHR flight since then (including drone alarms and train station sheltering). Next one only in September. Hope it will be boring….

When you pay to upgrade, your ticket number seems to change (the one starting with 176). Maybe the trick is to add BOTH the original and the upgraded ticket numbers in the refund request form (using the ‘+’ button)? Not sure, but it’s a thought for future reference.
Come to think of it, one of the tickets I recently cancelled was exactly like yours and I just gave the last ticket number. I received two separate amounts back on my card (on the same day). So maybe forget my suggestion above.

3*J saver tickets Man-Dxb booked directly on EK App using Amex. Skywards Gold for what it's worth.
Travel 26/4 return 9 days later
Filled in the online form carefully putting the three individual ticket numbers in alongside each travellers details late afternoon UK time last Friday.
In notes, added, 'full refund required due to current war situation'.

Received a confirmation email within a few minutes.
Received three individual emails acknowledging full refunds without any deductions early Monday morning.
Money back on Amex card early Tuesday morning.

Can't fault them...............