(DUBAI) — Airlines must offer passengers whose flights to Dubai are cancelled a choice between a full refund and a seat on the next available alternative flight, even if that means travelling on a different carrier.
Travellers can also choose whether to take the soonest available flight or rebook for a later date, a decision that can shape what help they receive while they wait and what they can later claim back.
Acting quickly matters because the airline’s immediate options can narrow as seats disappear on replacement flights and as airport disruption strains access to vouchers, desks and phone lines.
Passengers who accept a refund may need to arrange their own replacement travel, while those who choose re-routing can stay within the airline’s process for getting to their destination, and that can affect how a carrier handles meals, lodging and other expenses during the disruption.
Once a cancellation hits, travellers often face two parallel tracks: getting moving again and protecting the evidence they will need if they end up seeking reimbursement or compensation.
In the UAE, expectations around care during disruption also depend on whether the carrier is based in the country and on how long passengers are delayed, especially when the disruption forces an overnight wait.
For UAE-based airlines, the GCAA Passenger Welfare Programme sets out mandatory care tied to time thresholds when a passenger is delayed and needs support at the airport or while stranded abroad.
After 2 hours, the programme provides for meals and refreshments, and after 3 hours it provides for communication access, a point that can matter when travellers need to rearrange bookings and notify employers or family.
Once the delay reaches 6 hours or becomes overnight, the programme provides for hotel accommodation and transport, which can become the most urgent need for passengers stuck away from home.
Care on the ground can still vary in practice by airline and airport, and travellers can run into friction points that have little to do with formal rules, including limited hotel inventory during peak periods and long queues for vouchers.
Some passengers get meal vouchers or hotel arrangements directly through the airline, while others may find the carrier cannot confirm rooms immediately, leaving them to pay upfront and seek reimbursement later.
Flights involving European airlines can bring a similar reality for travellers stuck in Dubai or Doha, where carriers must provide hotel and meals until passengers can be flown out, but high passenger volumes can push airlines toward reimburse-later solutions.
That pay-now-and-claim-back approach makes documentation more than a formality, because receipts and timestamps become the basis for any later assessment of what the passenger spent and why.
Travellers who want to preserve their options later typically keep their boarding passes and booking confirmations, because those documents anchor the itinerary that was cancelled and the fare that was paid.
Screenshots also matter, including notifications showing the cancellation timing and what alternative flights were offered, since disputes can turn on when the carrier informed the passenger and what options were actually presented.
Itemised receipts for meals, accommodation and transport can support a reimbursement request, especially where the passenger paid upfront because vouchers were unavailable or hotel rooms were scarce.
Many claims also hinge on proving downstream losses triggered by the cancellation, so travellers often keep proof of prepaid services that became unusable, such as hotel nights, tours or ground transport, along with any no-show penalties that were charged.
That paper trail can help on several fronts: establishing the passenger’s rebooking preference, showing that the airline could not provide care directly, and demonstrating that expenses were necessary during the disruption.
Beyond care, passengers also commonly ask whether they are entitled to money for the cancellation itself, and that question turns on the difference between refunds, reimbursement and statutory compensation.
A refund returns the ticket price when the passenger chooses not to travel, while re-routing aims to get the passenger to the destination on an alternative flight.
Reimbursement, by contrast, covers additional costs incurred because of the disruption, such as lodging or transport that became necessary when the passenger could not travel as planned.
Statutory compensation, where it applies, is separate from both care and reimbursement and can depend on where the flight departed or arrived and how much notice the passenger received.
Under EU rules described in the guidance, passengers may be entitled to compensation of €250–€600 if their flight departed from or arrived at an EU airport, the cancellation came with less than 14 days’ notice, and the cancellation was not caused by extraordinary circumstances.
Extraordinary circumstances listed in the guidance include severe weather and security risks, and airlines can use such factors to contest compensation claims even when they still provide care.
The compensation bands are tied to distance thresholds: €250 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 for flights between 1,500–3,500 km, and €600 for flights over 3,500 km.
For travellers connecting through Dubai, that distinction can be decisive because an itinerary that begins outside Europe may fall outside the legal right to compensation, even if the airline offers goodwill support or care.
The guidance states that if a journey began outside Europe and the passenger is flying home to a non-EU country, the passenger has no legal right to compensation, though the airline may provide care voluntarily.
That makes itinerary details critical, including where the passenger’s journey began, which airports are involved, and whether the flight falls under EU-regulated scenarios, even when the disruption is felt most acutely in the Gulf.
For travellers focused on immediate needs, the practical questions are often simpler: can the airline place them on the next available flight, will the carrier cover hotel accommodation, and how will the passenger pay for necessities during a long wait.
Airlines generally focus first on moving passengers to available seats, and then on handling care obligations tied to the delay length, which can leave some travellers in a holding pattern while capacity tightens.
When replacement flights are scarce, passengers can face a choice between the earliest available routing and accepting travel at a later date, a decision that can affect the length of the wait and the scale of expenses.
Those who accept later flights may require additional nights of lodging, extra meals and added transport, while those who take the earliest alternative may limit out-of-pocket costs but still need immediate support while waiting at the airport.
As disruption cascades, travellers may also need to consider whether to keep receipts for essentials beyond meals and hotels, such as purchases made necessary by the delay.
When it comes time to file a claim, the guidance sets out different pathways for EU-regulated flights and UAE-based airlines, starting with the airline before escalating.
For EU-regulated flights, passengers start with the airline’s customer service team and submit documentation supporting what they seek, whether a refund, reimbursement of costs, or compensation where eligible.
If the airline does not respond within 30 days, the guidance says passengers can escalate to their country’s aviation authority or use a compensation service.
For UAE-based airlines, the guidance sets out a written complaint to the airline first and says the carrier must provide a substantive response within 30 days.
If the issue remains unresolved, passengers can escalate to the GCAA Consumer Protection Unit, which sits within the UAE’s aviation framework for consumer issues.
The content of a claim can influence how quickly it moves, and the guidance emphasises booking details, a clear summary of the disruption, receipts for expenses, and the remedy requested, whether that is a refund, reimbursement or compensation.
Passengers who choose to request a refund may focus the claim on getting the ticket price back, while those who took re-routing may focus on reimbursement for costs incurred during the wait and, where relevant, compensation linked to eligibility rules.
Reimbursement claims in the UAE also have a legal hook in the guidance, which points to Article 357 and frames airline responsibility for financial losses resulting from late arrival.
Examples of losses listed include missed hotel nights or prepaid accommodation, replacement transport, essential purchases during disruption, and prepaid services lost because of the delay.
Here again, proof is central, because an airline assessing “reasonable expenses” will typically look for receipts and evidence linking the expense to the cancellation and the rebooking timeline.
Passengers who incurred extra hotel nights, for example, may need to show that the added stay became necessary because they could not depart as booked and that they could not reasonably avoid the cost.
Travellers seeking replacement transport costs may need to show why the substitute was necessary and how it connected to the new itinerary, especially where the cancellation forced a change in arrival time or airport.
Even when travellers believe an expense is self-evident, itemised receipts help carriers evaluate what was purchased and when, and screenshots or messages can show that the airline could not offer an immediate alternative.
When prepaid services get lost, proof that the booking was non-refundable or that a no-show penalty applied can be relevant, since the claim turns on demonstrating a financial loss linked to the disruption.
Passengers dealing with multiple bookings often keep a simple chronology, including when the cancellation notice arrived, what alternatives were offered, and when they paid for meals, lodging and transport.
Timing also matters because compensation eligibility under EU rules described in the guidance turns on whether the passenger received less than 14 days’ notice, which makes a saved notification more than a convenience.
As travellers work through claims, the calendar can become another source of pressure, because time limits vary and waiting can weaken both records and leverage.
The guidance says passengers typically have up to 2 years from the date of a cancelled flight to file a compensation claim, depending on local law.
Even where that window is available, filing sooner can make it easier to verify what happened, match receipts to the disruption and resolve disputes over notice timing, rerouting options and what expenses were necessary.
Get a Full Refund and Hotel Under GCAA Passenger Welfare Programme
This guide outlines passenger rights for Dubai flight cancellations, covering mandatory care, refund options, and compensation eligibility. It emphasizes the importance of the GCAA Passenger Welfare Programme and EU regulations. Key advice includes maintaining a detailed paper trail of receipts and communications to support reimbursement claims for meals, hotels, and lost prepaid services, while noting the two-year window typically available for filing formal claims.
