A furious holidaymaker has slammed Emirates Airlines after claiming they left her “stranded” in Dubai for eight days as flooding caused chaos for Brits.
Shannon Maguire, 25, had been in Dubai when weather chaos left dozens of flights cancelled and delayed. At the time of filming, she said the airline had left her “stranded for 26 hours” after cancelling her flight.
The unprecedented, torrential rainfall left parts of the United Arab Emirates at a standstill last week, with thousands cancelling their holidays.
But for those already there, it proved difficult to get back to the UK. Shannon claimed Emirates booked her onto another flight “eight days later” – leaving her nowhere to stay for just over a week.
Sharing the video on TikTok, she said: “They checked us in for our flight even though it was cancelled. They didn’t tell us. And they rebooked our flight for in eight days.
“They won’t give us a hotel, won’t answer the phone, closed their live chat. Not a single person at the airport. No water, no food. Honestly, it’s like the purge at Dubai airport.
“We’ve just booked our own 19-hour connecting flight through Moldova. We went to go and get our luggage and they lost it even though the flight never left.”
And to make matters even worse, Shannon said they gave passengers “one cup of water when we were being squashed in mosh pits queuing to speak to someone”.
She jokingly added that “Emirates are making Ryanair look elite”. Shannon also claimed in the comment section that a spokesperson for Emirates at the airport said they had “run out of accommodation” for all the passengers stranded.
Fitness influencer Courtney Black also claimed the airline had left her with nowhere to go, writing: “They did this to me yesterday, I went to Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai airport. Maybe try that instead if you haven’t already.”
Another said: “I’m here and they’ve lost my daughter’s wheelchair!” Shannon clarified that while she didn’t “blame Emirates for the weather”, she felt the “service and communication was vile”.
Flights to Dubai have resumed as normal following the flooding, with Emirates confirming they had cancelled flights impacting 200,000 passengers.
The airline’s president, Sir Tim Clark, has written an open letter to passengers, saying: “We know our response has been far from perfect. We acknowledge and understand the frustration of our customers due to the congestion, lack of information, and confusion in the terminals. We acknowledge that the long queues and wait times have been unacceptable.”
Express.co.uk reached out to the airline but has not received a response.
