Emirates’ Rebooking Policy – Free Changes of Date & Destination or Full Refund

Emirates A380 Bar 2017

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions that comes with it, airlines have a hard time selling tickets or keep passengers from cancelling their flights. Some airlines waive the rebooking fee, but not the price difference when rebooking a flight. As this price difference usually exceeds several hundred Euros, not many passengers are tempted to rebook.

Emirates is a major exception and very generous when it comes changes to your booking because of cancellations (Emirates cancels your flight), travel restrictions (your destination denies your entry or sends you into mandatory quarantine), travel warnings (like most countries issued for not essential travel) or stay-at-home orders.

Update

Emirates has extended this program. It is now valid for:

  • Bookings made before September 30, 2020 (instead of June 30, 2020).
  • Travel beginning on or before March 31, 2021 (instead August 31, 2020).
  • For bookings after October 1, 2020, most of the rules still apply. You’ll pay no change fees and can choose a different airport within the same region. However, to dodge the price difference, tickets in the same booking class must still be available on the flight you wish to change to.

If you have booked an Emirates flights with departure before or on March 31, 2021, you have the option to:

  • Change your departure date up to 24 months ahead without a rebooking fee or paying price difference.
  • Change your destination to a different Emirates’ destination within the same region.

You cannot change your booking class (economy, business, first). The same regulations apply to new bookings made until September 30, 2020.

Emirates.com gives some decent information about the Keep your Ticket program. The airline goes into greater detail in a PDF issued for travel agents:

The most important requirement is that the first segment on your ticket happens on or before March 31, 2021 (this deadline may be extended in the future). Further, your ticket can be put on hold up to 760 days after issuance. This way, it will remain valid and you can alter it at a later point. After twelve months, you can opt to get a full refund instead.

Thanks to Michael, who gave us notice via Report a Deal!

Destination Changes

A change of destination is possible within the same region and free of charge. Emirates categorizes their destinations in nine regions globally.

Emirates’ Regions

Europe

  • Vienna, AustriaVIE
  • Brussels, Belgium BRU
  • Geneva, SwitzerlandGVA
  • Zurich, SwitzerlandZRH
  • Larnaca, CyprusLCA
  • Prague, Czech RepublicPRG
  • Düsseldorf, Germany DUS
  • Frankfurt, Germany FRA
  • Hamburg, Germany HAM
  • Munich, GermanyMUC
  • Copenhagen, DenmarkCPH
  • Barcelona, SpainBCN
  • Madrid, SpainMAD
  • Lyon, FranceLYS
  • Nice, FranceNCE
  • Paris, FrancePAR
  • Birmingham, UKBHX
  • Glasgow, UKGLA
  • London, UKLON
  • Manchester, UKMAN
  • Newcastle, UKNCL
  • Athens, GreeceATH
  • Zagreb, CroatiaZAG
  • Budapest, HungaryBUD
  • Dublin, Ireland DUB
  • Bologna, ItalyBLQ
  • Milan, Italy MIL
  • Rom, Italy ROM
  • Venice, Italian VCE
  • Malta MLA
  • Amsterdam, NetherlandsAMS
  • Oslo, Norway OSL
  • Warsaw, Poland WAW
  • Lisbon, Portugal LIS
  • Porto, Portugal OPO
  • St. Petersburg, Russia LED
  • Moscow, Russia MOW
  • Stockholm, Sweden STO
  • Istanbul, Turkey IST SAW
  • Edinburgh, UKEDI

Africa

  • Luanda, Angola LAD
  • Abidjan, Côte d’IvoireABJ
  • Algiers, Algeria ALG
  • Cairo, Egypt CAI
  • Addis Ababa, EthiopiaADD
  • Accra, Ghana ACC
  • Conakry, Guinea CKY
  • Nairobi, Kenya NBO
  • Abuja, Nigeria ABV
  • Lagos, Nigeria LOS
  • Khartoum, Sudan KRT
  • Dakar, Senegal DKR
  • Tunis, Tunisia TUN
  • Dar es Salaam, Tanzania DAR
  • Entebbe, Uganda EBB
  • Cape Town, South AfricaCPT
  • Durban, South AfricaDUR
  • Johannesburg, South AfricaJNB
  • Lusaka, Zambia LUN
  • Harare, Zimbabwe HRE
  • Casablanca, Morocco CAS

Gulf, Middle East and Iran

  • Dubai, United Arab EmiratesDXB
  • Bahrain BAH
  • Baghdad, Iraq BGW
  • Basra, Iraq BSR
  • Arbil, Iraq EBL
  • Tehran, Iran THR
  • Amman, Jordan AMM
  • Kuwait KWI
  • Beirut, Lebanon BEY
  • Muscat, Oman MCT
  • Dammam, Saudi Arabia DMM
  • Jeddah, Saudi Arabia JED
  • Medina, Saudi Arabia MED
  • Riyadh, Saudi Arabia RUH

West Asia

  • Kabul, Afghanistan KBL
  • Dhaka, BangIadesh DAC
  • Ahmedabad, India AMD
  • Bangalore, India BLR
  • Mumbai, India BOM
  • Colcata, India CCU
  • Kochi, India COK
  • Delhi, India DEL
  • Hyderabad, India HYD
  • Chennai, India MAA
  • Trivandrum, India TRV
  • Islamabad, Pakistan ISB
  • Karachi, Pakistan KHI
  • Lahore, Pakistan LHE
  • Peshawar, Pakistan PEW
  • Sialkot, Pakistan SKT

Indian Ocean Islands

  • Maldives MLE
  • Mauritius MRU
  • Seychelles SEZ
  • Colombo, Sri Lanka CMB

Far East

  • Beijing, China BJS
  • Guangzhou, China CAN
  • Shanghai, China SHA
  • Hong Kong HKG
  • Bali, Indonesia DPS
  • Jakarta, Indonesia JKT
  • Osaka, Japan OSA
  • Tokyo, Japan TYO
  • Phnom Penh, CambodiaPNH
  • Seoul, South KoreaSEL
  • Rangoon, Myanmar RGN
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia KUL
  • Cebu, Philippines CEB
  • Angeles, Philippines CRK
  • Manila, Philippines MNL
  • Singapore SIN
  • Bangkok, Thailand BKK
  • Phuket, Thailand HKT
  • Taipei, Taiwan TPE
  • Hanoi, Vietnam HAN
  • Ho-Chi-Minh-City, Vietnam SGN

Australia & New Zealand

  • Adelaide, Australien ADL
  • Brisbane, Australien BNE
  • Melbourne, Australien MEL
  • Perth, Australien PER
  • Sydney, Australien SYD
  • Auckland, Neuseeland AKL
  • Christchurch, Neuseeland CHC

North America

  • Boston, USA BOS
  • Chicago, USA CHI
  • Detroit, USA DFW
  • Fort Lauderdale, USA FLL
  • Houston, USA HOU
  • Los Angeles, USA LAX
  • New York, USA NYC
  • Orlando, USA ORL
  • Seattle, USA SEA
  • San Francisco, USA SFO
  • Washington D.C., USA WAS
  • Toronto, Canada YTO
  • México City, México MEX

South America

  • Buenos Aires, Argentina BUE
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil RIO
  • São Paulo, Brazil SAO
  • Santiago de Chile, Chile SCL

If you’ve booked a flight to Sri Lanka, you can rebook your flight to the Maldives, Seychelles or Mauritius. Instead of going to Addis Abeba in Ethiopia you can change your destination to Cape Town, South Africa. Auckland or Christchurch in New Zealand can be a substitute for Perth, Australia. The only restrictions are that your new destination hast to be in the same region and that you have to keep your travel class.

Full Refunds Are Possible

Alternatively Emirates offers you a voucher worth the price of the booking. The voucher is valid for one year and can be extended by an additional year. After the first year, you can receive its value as a refund.

Starting April 14, 2020, Emirates offers full refunds regardless of ticket regulations. Until then, Emirates denied any requests for monetary refunds.

3 – Refunds: Customers who have opted to keep their ticket or opted for a travel voucher can still apply for a refund, if they are unable to travel. There will be no refund penalties.

Emirates press release

Bottom Line

Emirates’ new rebooking regulations are truly generous and offer an attractive alternative to refunds. This will get some customers to consider rebooking and thus help Emirates to keep money. Other airlines are welcome to follow this example.

Cover Picture: © Emirates

Write a comment

Comments (15)

  1. J j says:

    I booked a emirates ticket on 12 may 2022 bt didn’t use in how much time does I use it?

  2. Muhammad Amir says:

    Hello how are you my flight was canceled last year I book ticket online from other online traveler I want to book the ticket again can you please help me thg o rebook vlight or I can get my refund

  3. Sunni says:

    Is Emirates travel ban being lifted from South Africa to Dubai on Jan 10th 2022..

  4. Mohamed says:

    Hi
    Iam just wondering if I can change travel dates and change in destination as well please help
    Thank you

    • Felix says:

      Hi Mohamed,
      this entirely depends on when you have booked your flight and when it is scheduled to take place. For new bookings, Emirates doesn’t grant any added flexibility.

  5. aj says:

    Hello! I have concern unfortunately my Baby and I they offload us due to my covid test is expire more than 72hrs. Can I rebook our ticket?

  6. Shaista Sheikh says:

    Hi please help me in can I change my Emirates flight booking a day before or how many hours before i can change my booking date?

    • Ditmar Lange says:

      Hi, we’re not completely sure, but usually, you can do it anytime before the departure. I would do it a few hours before departure, at the latest, in case that something goes wrong and takes more time. But we couldn’t find anything stating that you had to do it much earlier.

  7. Peter says:

    Unfortunately they moved Mexico from South America to region North America. Your overview does not show this update yet

  8. Tony Walsh says:

    Hello
    Does your policy apply if we have booked through Qantas on your flights?
    Thank you
    Tony

    • Felix says:

      Hi Tony!
      We are not an official Emirates site, so we cannot answer your question accurately. From our outstanding, you must have a booking with Emirates directly to benefit from this policy. We recommend contacting their customer support to be sure.

  9. Jacques says:

    Well done Emirates
    In the official statement 14 April the company said that “any fees for making a CHANGE to
    tickets ….. will be waived
    My experience is that the tax fees will be adjusted and have to be paid and maybe the fare difference also?
    This is not very clear for me.
    Kind regards

    • Felix says:

      Hi Jacques!

      While we cannot say anything about tax adjustments, Emirates specifically states that you won’t have to pay the fare difference. So the base airfare remains the same, even if you switch destinations.

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