Etihad and volcanic ash cloud

[Henk]

Hi all,

A friend of mine is on a Etihad MEL-DUB flight, (stopover in Abu Dhabi) next week. He is worried that he might get stucked in Abu Dhabi if they announce that Dublin airport is closed because of the volcanic cloud.

• Is the airline obliged to provide hotel in Abu Dhabi if that's the case?
• Can he refuse to board the flight in MEL if he knows that DUB is closed? Will Etihad change the date of departure, if that's the case?

Thanks for your advise.

Henk

 

[samh004]

As the airline is not a European carrier it is not obliged to book a hotel, however if the passenger is a European citizen, that changes things I think.

As for the flight to Abu Dhabi, most airlines aren’t likely just to fly halfway, but I’m not sure what a Middle-Eastern carriers idea would be in this situation.

 

[Dave Noble]

As the airline is not a European carrier it is not obliged to book a hotel, however if the passenger is a European citizen, that changes things I think.

Nationality of the passenger makes no difference ; the only bit that matters is to do with the country of the airline

to the OP, if the passenger refuses to board then he may well lose the entire fare . If unilaterally he decides to cancel , then will be dependant upon the cancellation policy .

If the airline thinks that there are problems , they may put a policy in place which may allow him to make changes/cancel without penalty

 

[samh004]

Nationality of the passenger makes no difference ; the only bit that matters is to do with the country of the airline

Ahh I thought it did. Oh well.

 

[Henk]

Thanks for your kind posts.

 

[stryker]

Hi all,

A friend of mine is on a Etihad MEL-DUB flight, (stopover in Abu Dhabi) next week. He is worried that he might get stucked in Abu Dhabi if they announce that Dublin airport is closed because of the volcanic cloud.

• Is the airline obliged to provide hotel in Abu Dhabi if that's the case?
• Can he refuse to board the flight in MEL if he knows that DUB is closed? Will Etihad change the date of departure, if that's the case?

Thanks for your advise.

Henk

Well, if it were Emirates, the airline would NOT put you up in the Middle East, and point 2, they wouldn't even let you board if your destination was closed.

Ask me how I know (answer, it happened to me)...

 

[serfty]

Nationality of the passenger makes no difference ; the only bit that matters is to do with the country of the airline ...

Certainly the Nationality of the passenger makes no difference.

There is a difference that relates to the country of the airline in that an EU registered carrier is generally liable for compensation and duty of care costs for flights to the EU under EU legislation while non EU carriers (like Etihad) are not subject to EU regulation (for flights to the EU).

However, for journeys from the EU, any carrier, including Etihad would liable for duty of care (Note this is not the case for this thread).

 

[Dave Noble]

In the context of this thread that is true as the journey is to the UE.

However, for journeys from the EU carrier would liable for duty of care - again this is not the case for this thread.

Regardless of context, the nationality of the passenger is irrelevent

Dave

 

[serfty]

Regardless of context, the nationality of the passenger is irrelevent

Dave

Absolutly true, I've edited my post for clarification.