Emirates Airline’s ticketholders have been informed that the last flight from South Africa to Dubai will depart at 14:00 on Thursday.
Emirates cuts off South Africa route
This follows an announcement made by the carrier that it has moved to cancel its South Africa-Dubai route until Thursday 28 January 2021, “for operational reasons.”
Emirates says flights have been temporarily suspended because of operational reasons. The last flights to the three South African gateways will be on 15 January.
— Heidi Giokos (@HeidiGiokos) January 14, 2021
According to reporter Heidi Giokos, Emirates indicated that the last three flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to South Africa will depart from Dubai International Airport to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg on Friday.
Update: Emirates last flight out of South Africa will now be today the 14th of January and 15th of January out of Dubai.
— Heidi Giokos (@HeidiGiokos) January 14, 2021
Rebooking options available to travellers
Travellers holding a ticket to flights departing in this shut down period are advised to either hold onto their ticket to use at a later date or process a refund.
“You have the option to keep your ticket and use it at any time in the next 24 months. It doesn’t cost anything extra to change your flight and you can even change your destination. However, if you prefer not to keep your ticket for later, you can complete our form to request a refund,” Emirates notes.
The Arab airline explained that those who booked through a travel agent also have the option to keep their ticket.
“You can choose to keep your original ticket or request a refund, in accordance with our policy. Please contact your travel agent to arrange this.”