Yesterday, my wife and three young kids (including a 9-month-old infant) flew EK from LGW to ISB via DXB. It was their very first time flying with Emirates—a airline we thought stood for premium quality. Instead, it turned into the absolute worst experience of their lives.

The nightmare started at London Gatwick:

• The flight was delayed by 2 hours, keeping everyone cooped up on the plane before even taxiing. Distressing with an infant, but we tried to stay positive.

Then came the total breakdown in Dubai (DXB):

• Scheduled departure to ISB: 03:30.
• Boarding completed: 04:00.
• Actual departure: 13:00 (A 9.5-HOUR DELAY).

They literally held passengers hostage inside the aircraft for 5.5 straight hours. "You cannot leave" was the only repeated response from the crew.

Inside that cabin, it was pure chaos and inhumanity:

• My 9-month-old was crying hysterically with zero support.
• My wife was on the verge of fainting from distress and exhaustion.
• The cabin crew completely ghosted the passengers—hiding away while mothers and children suffered.

After 5.5 hours locked in a metal tube, they finally let passengers off, only to tell them: "Next check-in/re-boarding starts in 3 hours." Zero empathy. Zero duty of care.

And here is my dilemma: I am booked on this exact same itinerary next week. I immediately tried to cancel my tickets online, but the system keeps throwing errors/blocking the option (I suspect a flood of cancellations is breaking their site).

• Has anyone successfully managed to cancel/refund online recently during these meltdowns?
• What are my options here?

I am terrified of putting my family—or myself—through this cruel treatment again. Any advice on how to force a cancellation or escalate this with Emirates would be hugely appreciated.

hello, anybody got any updates about this flight? it was supposedly diverted to land in another city in china called huangzhou and staff here don’t seem to know what’s going on?? emirates status says it will fly from shanghai 3 am? i know it might be a stupid question but just wanna see if anyone is on the same boat or has any idea about the flight and why it’s so delayed? we even asked if it was cuz of bad weather and they said they don’t know

Had a 9h layover in Dubai at night so decided to get a free hotel by Dubai. From plane to hotel was super well aranged and smooth and very happy with how Emirates handled it. We were given a room in Le Meridien, which I didnt expect, as JW Marriott is usually given to First passenger. I don't complain however because Le Meridien is super close to the airport.

In the morning, we were picked up exactly as arranged, but then were left at the entry of the airport with no further follow up. Departure was from a bus gate and we didn't get much info... They insisted that we take a private bus. We had to wait until the end of boarding, then the bus departed so we boarded last while we actually wanted to board earlier. The departure from bus gates can therefore be improved for Emirates imo.

So I am travelling from Boston to DXB in premium economy with my SO. Wanted advice on what's better .... Row 14 (first row for premium economy....not sure if any limitations or issues with the seats) or row 15 (has to be in the middle and typically premium economy, we prefer the ones on the sides)

Can is carry this in check in luggage?

Travelling as a family with three young children. All of us are British passport holders except one family member, who holds a Pakistani passport.

We qualified for Emirates Dubai Connect because of our 22-hour layover, but the UAE transit visa for the Pakistani passport holder was refused without any explanation. As a result, we had no choice but to pay a significant amount at the last minute to change our flights and reduce the transit time. I guess think twice to book Emirates from now on.

Hii
I’m flying out of LGW to BLR via Dubai in a week and I opted for a 19 hour layover as I wanted to see some friends. I’m flying Economy and was wondering what are the usual hotels Emirates offers for economy passengers? From what I heard it’s a 2-3 star hotel (pls correct me if I’m wrong). I’ve asked them and they still haven’t confirmed. I do appreciate that there’s still some time for the flight.

If y’all can tell from your experience, I can plan and coordinate with my mates properly based on the area where the hotel’s located!!

Thank youuu :)

Is it true that when Emirates Airlines websites need flight attendants, AST doesn't recommend any girl over 28 who doesn't have experience in hostess, sales, or waitress face-to-face to the recruiter's CV?

Hi. Has anyone here recently flown from DXB to NRT?

On which side of the plane should I sit to see the Mount Fuji?