Emirates has returned over $1.4-billion (R23.6-billion) in Covid-19 related travel refunds to date.
The airline revealed that more than 1.4 million refunds requests have been completed since March, representing 90 percent of the airline’s backlog. This includes all requests received from customers around the world up until the end of June, save for a few cases which require further manual review.
Since the pandemic hit, Emirates has invested additional resources to ramp up its processing capability.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said the airline was committed to honouring refunds. “We understand that from our customers’ standpoint, each pending refund request is one too many. We are committed to honouring refunds and are trying our utmost to clear the massive and unprecedented backlog that was caused by the pandemic.
“Most cases are straightforward, and these we will process quickly. But there are cases which will take a bit more time for our customer teams to manually review and complete. We are grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding," said Clark.
In recent months, Emirates has gradually restarted its passenger operations around the world.
The airline has introduced a series of industry-leading initiatives to provide customers with additional reassurance and confidence when they travel – from bio-safety measures at every step of their journey, to free Covid-19 medical cover, and flexible booking policies.
Emirates currently offers flights to over 80 cities. Emirates revealed that the airline will cover medical expenses of up to €150 000 (R3-million) and quarantine costs of €100 (R1988) per day for 14 days, should a traveller be diagnosed with the coronavirus during their travel. This cover is free to its customers until October 31, 2020.