• Tourism departments require hotels to extend stay

Sopuruchi Onwuka

Over 30,000 tourists and transit passengers trapped in the Middle East following ongoing missile fireworks arising from America’s strikes on Iran would be catered for by the tourism departments of Qatar the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Statements syndicated to Oracle Intelligence by media agencies have it that the Middle East emirates have declared intention to pay for the hotels and meals of passengers who are stuck at airports in both countries due to airspace closures.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the UAE had announced on 1 March that the state is “bearing all hosting and accommodation costs for affected and stranded passengers”.

“In light of the current circumstances and given that some guests have reached their check out date but are unable to travel for reasons beyond their control, you are kindly requested to extend their stay until they are able to depart,” a circular issued to hotels from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) said.

“The cost of the extended stay will be covered by DCT Abu Dhabi.”

The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) also contacted hotels to “support affected guests by facilitating extensions to stays under existing booking conditions”.

“Dubai has a strong and proven track record of managing periods of global disruption with agility and coordination, consistently prioritizing care of citizens, residents and visitors, while maintaining world-class service standards,” a spokesperson for DET said.

“This integrated approach across government and private sector partners enables the city to respond quickly and effectively.”

Around 20,200 passengers have been affected by the cancelling or rescheduling of flights in the UAE.

Qatar Tourism issued a circular on 2 March requesting that hotels extend stays for those who cannot leave due to the airspace closures. Around 8,000 transit passengers have been affected.

Qatar also noted that over 3,000 travelers including tourists who had already booked their flights before the airspace closure would also be lodged in hotels until all safety issues surrounding air traffic are resolved.

The authority added that it will “cover the additional costs incurred, as the safety, security and wellbeing of all visitors remain among our highest priorities”.

In addition, the UAE which suspended all commercial flights in the country but has begun to operate exceptional flights to help stranded passengers depart.

Airlines including Emirates and Etihad Airways are contacting customers directly to share flight details. The airlines advised those yet to be contacted to remain at home and not travel to the airport.

Etihad Airways said commercial flights to and from Abu Dhabi are suspended until 2 pm local time or 12 pm Centeral European Time (CET) on 5 March, while Emirates extended its suspension until 11.59 pm (9:59 pm CET) on 4 March.

In Qatar, Hamad International Airport suspended all flight operations, with passengers advised not to travel to the airport.

Terminal One of Kuwait International Airport was struck by a drone on 28 February, with nine workers injured; forcing the country to close its airspace.

The Public Authority for Civil Aviation said on 1 March that damage assessments were taking place with a view to carry out repairs to restore operations “as soon as possible”.

Oman Air has said that flights to and from Amman, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, and Kuwait, Copenhagen, Baghdad and Khasab have been cancelled until 7 March. Other flights are operating as scheduled, but delays are to be expected.

Saudia has also cancelled flights to and from Amman, Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Moscow and Peshawar until 11:59 pm local time (9:59 pm CET) on 4 March.