Emirates Reviews 

Our flight was cancelled due to operational reasons. At Islamabad Airport, we were left waiting for several hours with little or conflicting informastion provided. When we approached the staff at the gate, we received conflicting information from different employees, which only added to the confusion.

Eventually, we were sent to a hotel located approximately one hour from the airport. The replacement flight we were ultimately given departed 19 hours later than our original scheduled flight.

During our journey, we had a layover in Dubai where we were required to wait in the transit area for 6.5 hours. Upon arrival at our final destination, we discovered that our luggage had not arrived with us.

More than 24 hours later, we are still waiting for our baggage to be delivered. We have received no meaningful updates regarding its whereabouts or when it is expected to arrive. The lack of communication and support throughout this entire experience has been extremely frustrating and disappointing.

I had an extremely disappointing experience with Emirates Airlines. My flight from Dubai (DXB) to Rome (EK97) on July 21 was delayed, which caused me to miss my connecting flight from Rome to Toronto. As a result, my baggage was lost, and I also lost my job because I was unable to arrive on time.

What has made this experience even more frustrating is that Emirates has refused to take responsibility for the consequences of the delay or provide meaningful assistance. I expected much better customer service from an airline with Emirates' reputation.

This situation has caused me significant financial and emotional hardship. I hope Emirates reviews my case seriously and takes responsibility for the impact this delay has had on my life.

I’ve been an Emirates Platinum member for years and have accumulated almost 900,000 Skywards Miles. I understand airlines have rules, but sometimes rules stop making sense.

I purchased an Economy ticket and, because I wasn’t permitted to use my miles to upgrade, I paid approximately AED 4,000 to upgrade to Business Class. In total, I paid around AED 8,000 for a one-way Business Class journey.

I then asked to use my Skywards Miles to upgrade from Business to First Class. The answer was no.

The reason? My Business Class seat had come from a paid promotional upgrade rather than an originally ticketed Business fare.

That’s the part I simply cannot understand.

I had paid for Business Class. I was sitting in Business Class. First Class had empty seats. I had almost 900,000 miles available to redeem. Yet Emirates’ system still said no because of the fare code attached to my original ticket.

Surely customer experience should matter more than a technicality.

The irony was complete when I was then told the First Class Lounge was closed and I would be using the Business Lounge instead.

To be clear, this is not a criticism of the staff. They were professional, courteous and simply following the rules.

My criticism is of a policy that seems to prioritise fare codes over customer loyalty and common sense. Empty First Class seats departed, my miles remained unused, and a long-standing Platinum customer left feeling that loyalty counted for less than the small print.

Emirates is still an outstanding airline. That’s exactly why I believe it can do better than this.

Mark
109056021

I have always considered Emirates one of the world's finest airlines, which is why this experience was so disappointing.

Before my flight from Seattle to Dubai, I approached the Emirates counter to purchase a Business Class upgrade. I was quoted a price of approximately USD $1,100–1,200, which I happily accepted. The agent confirmed there would be sufficient Business Class meals available, helped me choose my seat, processed my credit card payment, issued my receipt, and printed my boarding pass.

At that point, I had every reason to believe my upgrade had been successfully completed.

As I was about to leave, I noticed something wasn't right. The boarding pass I had been given wasn't even in my name—the Emirates agent had accidentally upgraded another passenger instead of me. After spending another 20 minutes correcting the mistake, I was told that my ticket was somehow not eligible for an upgrade and that my money would simply be refunded.

What I cannot understand is this: if my ticket wasn't eligible for an upgrade, why was my payment accepted, why was I asked to select my seat, and why was my boarding pass printed in the first place?

I spent approximately 45 minutes at the counter dealing with a mistake that was entirely beyond my control. What disappointed me most wasn't that a mistake was made—mistakes happen. It was the complete lack of empathy and effort to resolve the situation. Once the error was discovered, I was simply told that my money would be refunded, as though my time and disappointment didn't matter.

To make matters worse, after boarding the aircraft, I was informed that I could still upgrade to Business Class—but now at more than double the original price.

This review is not about not getting an upgrade. It's about customer service and how a customer is treated when something goes wrong. Emirates created a reasonable expectation that my upgrade had been completed and then reversed everything because of its own mistake.

I expected much better from an airline with Emirates' reputation. Unfortunately, this experience left me disappointed and questioning the premium service that Emirates is so well known for.

Looks like their air stewards are trained to be much more polite & courteous than Etihad Airways' air stewards.

I booked two tickets from Tel Aviv to Phuket via Dubai (Booking Reference: CG4BKX) and expected the high level of service Emirates is known for. Unfortunately, my experience was extremely disappointing.

During check-in in Tel Aviv, I specifically asked about my baggage. I was informed by the check-in agent that my carry-on trolley could be checked into the aircraft hold together with my luggage. At no point was I told that this would result in any additional charges.

To my shock, during my connection in Dubai, just before boarding flight EK396 to Phuket, I was required to pay AED 1,440 for excess baggage. Had I been properly informed in Tel Aviv, I would have reorganized my luggage and avoided this unexpected expense.

Instead, I was forced to pay a large amount of money because of information that was either incomplete or misleading. This caused significant stress, frustration, and inconvenience at the start of my vacation.

For an airline that promotes itself as a world-class carrier, I expected clear and consistent information from its staff. Receiving one explanation in Tel Aviv and facing a completely different situation in Dubai is unacceptable.

I have submitted a formal complaint and expect Emirates to investigate this matter thoroughly and provide a fair resolution.

Very disappointed. Based on this experience, I cannot recommend Emirates.

We were to have 6 flights with Emirates over 3 months. Flight 2: Emirates was delayed 2 hours. Missed our connecting flight from Dubai to Milan. Lost accomodation. Due to us missing that connection our next flights were voided.
Flight 4: arrived at Amsterdam check in counter after receiving our Business class confirmation to be told our seats our cancelled due to a gateway number which Qantas has supplied but the ground supervisor didn’t want to acknowledge. This supervisor stated’i could over ride this code but because your agent was rude to me I have decided I will not do it’ ‘I just returned from stress leave and this is too stressful for me. I’m going home. I advise you to buy another business class ticket now to catch this flight’ ‘ this is your problem not mine’ and left the airport and us stranded.
We were meant to fly to Dubai on route to Hong Kong. At Dubai airport check in we were told no seats assigned to you. You need to buy new tickets which we did. Now out of pocket $15000. Arrive in Hong Kong no luggage. Luggage never boarded the flight. No bags for 3 days.
After buying a new ticket, at ticket validation at flight gate my ticket got declined. Staff could not believe what was happening.
No apologies from Emirates. No refund, compensation. Nothing ….. shame on you!
Still have one more flight end of week from BKK. Cross fingers I get home intact.
Will never fly with Emirates again!!!! Need to share

Absolutely horrendous and rude staff at check in counters in Stansted. An old lady staff at the checkin counter had problems me producing the travel documents for my family instead wanted my wife to answer and produce her documents by herself. And the way the staff spoke about it was horrible and unprofessional. Ofcourse I stepped back and let my wife interact for herself but was absolutely unecessary at checkin counter.

Emirates cancelled my flight and didn't tell me. They moved it a day earlier but my connecting flight is the same time.

I do look forward to being awake for 42 hours now thanks to this.

First & last time use.
Departed late from LHR. 1 hour & 30 minutes late. I missed my connection flight at DXB and no one was there to tell me. Infact, one of emirates employee directed me to departing terminal without checking my boarding pass(apparently directing me to departed flight) I wandered around for about 3 hours and got a new boarding pass. Without any meal/stay vouchers. Infact the lady gave my voucher but was invalid. Now I am stuck for 10 hours for a connection that was supposed to be only 2 hours and 30 minutes

Flew Emirates DXB–KHI on 14 Feb 2026; my stroller was gate-checked and never returned. I filed a claim immediately (PIR: KHIA2797491), but Emirates’ only response since has been that they’re “still searching” — five months on, my 550 AED claim (650 AED replacement cost) remains unpaid despite dozens of follow-ups via call, airport, chat, email, and social media. Poor accountability from an airline that markets itself on premium service, especially toward a family with a young child.

Frequent Flyer: EK743009050 | Reference: KHIA2797491

Scammers. I did not receive a refund for cancelled flights. Waiting for 4 months now and still nothing, contacting them every week.

Booking reference:
N4H2KW

I booked an airport transfer through the Emirates website because I trusted the Emirates brand. Unfortunately, the driver never arrived, and despite spending over 30 minutes with Emirates Customer Service while we were at risk of missing our flight, they were unable to contact their partner (CarTrawler), arrange an alternative, or assist with a refund.

Booking references:
Emirates/CarTrawler Reference: AE903531350
MyTransfer Reference: 2458713

The most disappointing part was Emirates Customer Affairs simply referring me back to CarTrawler, taking no responsibility for a service promoted and booked through the Emirates platform.

We paid approximately AED 1,000 for a transfer that was never provided. If Emirates chooses to partner with third-party providers, it should also stand behind those services when they completely fail. This experience has significantly reduced my confidence in booking any additional services through Emirates.

Emirates was always been first on our list to fly with if possible and when we travelled to the Maldives in February we booked with this airline instead of choosing a direct flight. But never again! All went well until our return. The war started and all flights were cancelled. We contacted our travel agent who booked us on a flight on Wednesday 4 March, when flights resumed. Our resort, OBLU Nature were fantastic throughout and warned us that the flight was only for UAE nationals. Our travel agent contacted Emirates Dubai who said we were on the flight and had to go to the airport.
We, and many others, were not even allowed in the terminal. No Emirates staff were found to help us as they were the ones turning us away. We were left in limbo.
We did not get a flight until 9 March. Despite numerous emails we cannot get Emirates to admit that it was not the war but their own incompetence and lack of communication that left us stranded.
We just get standard replies telling us it was our package company responsibility to pay for the extra nights. Our company fulfilled their contract but Emirates did not. We are SO shocked at the lack of customer care and will be reluctant to use this airline again.

1 star — Emirates talks a good game and delivers none of it

My wife and I flew Emirates from Karachi to New York and back from LA to Karachi in June 2026. What followed was a masterclass in how an airline can break its own promises, then hide behind scripted apologies instead of actually fixing anything.

Emirates cancelled our connecting flight days before travel — their decision entirely — and turned a comfortable 4.5-hour layover into an 11+ hour ordeal. Because the layover now exceeded 8 hours, we did everything right: we arranged Dubai Connect accommodation in advance, and Emirates staff in LA physically handed us a hotel booking and told us to collect it in Dubai. A promise, in writing, from their own staff.

Then, after a 16-hour flight and over 21 hours of travel — running on no sleep, no shower, nothing — we got to the Dubai Connect counter and were told: nothing. No hotel. No accommodation. Just a $22 meal voucher and a suggestion that we pay out of our own pocket for a lounge if we wanted somewhere to sit. When we asked for actual help, we were told we could "put in a complaint" if we didn't like it. That's not customer service. That's being handed a door and told to leave.

And then there's the baggage: Emirates staff told us our allowance was only 23kg, so we paid extra — PKR 31,194 and 2,200 Skywards Miles — for baggage we never needed, because our tickets already included 46kg per person the whole time. Nobody told us. We found out at check-in, after already paying.

Here's the part that actually finished it for us: we wrote in. Twice. Formally, with dates, references, and a clear request for a refund and accountability. Both times, Emirates' Customer Affairs — handled by someone named Ayman — sent back the same hollow, corporate non-answer: "we've taken this seriously," "we regret you remain disappointed," with absolutely nothing behind it. No refund. No accountability. No acknowledgment that any of this was their fault, despite every single failure in this story being entirely on them.

We were also told a supervisor based in Pakistan, Umair, would personally call us back to resolve things. That call never came — not once. We had to chase for updates every single time, at every stage, instead of Emirates proactively following through on what they themselves promised.

We've flown all over the world — the US, Europe, the UAE, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia — without this level of disregard from an airline. Emirates had every opportunity to make this right and chose, twice, not to bother. We won't be flying with them again, and if you're reading this before booking: know that if anything goes wrong on your trip, this is exactly the level of "support" you can expect in return — promises made, then quietly dropped, until you're the one doing all the chasing.

Since 2020 I've been using several Emirates flight and I experienced most of the time delays, today 16th of July 2026 flight EK97 is carrying once again 51 minutes of unnecessary delay. Why it's unnecessary, simply because the flight starts from their HQ in Dubai, where miss communications between: pilots, crew, land personnel and ALL above flight controllers can't be happening as they are all living there and communicate easily.
On top of that the cost of flights to connect Europe to Asia via Dubai are over priced of at least 250$/200Eur.

I hope in the future they will be able to make amend to this as they have over 4 hours of time to put all together in place and allow the plane to leave in time.

Regards

Emirates airline is the most terrible airline that I have ever seen. Please pay attention to my message, they cancelled my flight and after couple of months following up, they are just giving one response to me that your money is with the finance team and they will contact you. Once I say no one is contacting me and give me any contact that I can get connected to them, they say sorry we can not give you any more details and just need to wait. They already stole my money and not taking the responsibility for that. Be careful about them. It is completely fraud!!!!!!

There are bombs in the ME and these clowns won’t refund my tickets. They mention an insurance for me to buy which, btw, is not available on the website. All of this while most airlines have rightfully cancel flights to the regions. Shame on you. You have lost 2 lifelong clients forever.

I was travelling with the emirates from last 2 years. I took flight from Birmingham which was cancelled due to war, after that i took flight from London for umrah my connection time was 1 hour flight from London delayed and dubai flight got cancelled. They gave me hotel and visa fees vouchers which is not applicable on me as per my passport requirements. I asked them and try to tell them whole issue that was insane no one was helping me because they there shit policies to left the customer on there own in the airport

⭐ 1 Star

I have been a loyal Emirates customer for many years and always considered Emirates my favorite airline. Sadly, this experience has completely changed my opinion.

During our flight, an Emirates flight attendant accidentally spilled a drink over my partner's passport. She said sorry i will dry it and said it would not be a problem, After landing, we were informed by Emirates that the passport was no longer valid and that my partner would not be allowed to continue his journey to Bali.

This single incident completely ruined the start of our holiday. I arrived in Bali 24 hours late, while my partner was only able to arrive three days later. We spent days apart under enormous stress, uncertainty, and emotional distress.

After landing in Dubai, we had to spend almost 20 hours waiting at the airport, trying to find a solution. We were eventually told that my partner had to fly back to the Netherlands to obtain a new passport before he would be allowed to continue his journey. The flight back alone cost us €1,150.

What makes this situation even more difficult to understand is what happened afterwards. According to the Dutch authorities, obtaining a new passport was not necessary. My partner's original passport was accepted by Emirates and by the authorities in Dubai. After returning to the Netherlands, he was able to travel back to Dubai and then on to Bali using the same original passport. Throughout that entire journey, he was never required to show the emergency passport.

This raises serious questions about whether the passport was assessed correctly in Dubai and whether the return flight to the Netherlands, the three-day delay, and all the additional costs could have been avoided.

As a direct result of this incident, we have now suffered more than €2,000 in additional costs, including replacement flights, accommodation, transport, and other unexpected expenses. We also lost three prepaid nights at our hotel in Bali, including accommodation, breakfasts, and other services that we had already paid for but were unable to use.

A mistake can happen, but the way it is handled afterwards is what truly matters. We expected Emirates to take responsibility for an incident caused by one of its crew members and to support us in resolving the consequences. Instead, we were left to deal with everything ourselves.

This has caused us significant financial loss, the loss of three precious days of our holiday together, and an enormous amount of emotional stress. After many years of choosing Emirates, I never expected to be treated this way.

I sincerely hope Emirates accepts responsibility for what happened, thoroughly reviews how this situation was handled, and provides fair compensation for the financial losses and the damage this incident has caused our family.