I wish to express my dissatisfaction with my recent experience on Emirates Flight EK2185, scheduled for August 6th, 2023, from Dubai to Catania. The flight was canceled less than 24 hours in advance, which severely impacted my long-haul trip. This trip was booked through the Emirates website and was disrupted just hours before its departure due to the cited 'unforeseen circumstances,' namely a fire incident at Catania Airport, which had occurred three weeks prior.Being an aware passenger, I was cognizant of the previous flight cancellations to Catania and the airport's incapacity to handle extra-Schengen flights. Consequently, I had been diligently monitoring the situation, investing significant time and financial resources from a remote location in South Africa to stay updated and explore alternative travel options in case of an eventual cancellation.My distressing experience began when I found myself caught in a bureaucratic game of ping-pong between Emirates and Flydubai, the airline operating the flight. Both carriers appeared to evade responsibility and failed to offer me any practical alternative plans. The cancellation notification reached me while I was en route to the airport, necessitating an unscheduled stop in an area with phone reception to contact the Emirates call center, as per Flydubai's app recommendation.To my dismay, I spent over 30 minutes on the phone only to discover that Emirates was not presenting any viable options for reaching my final destination. Furthermore, their communication regarding alternative flights from Dubai to Italy was initially unclear—mentioning Rome or Milan—and later, limited to Naples, with no apparent connection to Catania. It was only after a protracted discussion that the call-center operator finally intervened, reconfiguring my entire reservation to a flight bound for Milan, just an hour before my scheduled check-in at Skukuza.This change, which was seemingly necessitated by Emirates' arcane policies, left me in Dubai without compensation for the additional time spent there. I was accommodated in a shared room with no meals, a circumstance that I managed to secure solely because my partner already had a reservation for a Dubai Connect service. Following the call-center operator's instructions, I had to personally book a new flight from Milan to Catania, incurring additional expenses.The overwhelming stress and uncertainty surrounding this ordeal marred a significant portion of my holiday experience. Furthermore, it resulted in illness, causing me to miss an essential medical appointment scheduled in Catania on August 7th. This entire episode proved to be nightmarish and deeply disappointing, an outcome I never anticipated from a company of Emirates' stature.I respectfully requested that Emirates recognized the hardships I endured during this journey, including the extra costs incurred due to the days of delay and the missed medical appointment. However, they just said they could do nothing...Maria (Nick's partner)
