Travel Solutions Network founders Lindsey and Garry Winterburn are amongst the tens of thousands of British holidaymakers stranded in the Middle East and elsewhere due to the ongoing air strikes across the region.
The couple, who were on a five-day break in Dubai, were due to fly home yesterday but instead were told to stay put and wait for more information.
“The problem is, there is no information,” said Lindsey. “We were told by our airline to go to the airport on Sunday, it even gave us the gate for our flight, but we were also being told by the Foreign Office to say inside, that it wasn’t safe to travel.
“It would help if we could talk to a human, if I have to deal with one more chatbot or AI I’ll scream!
“And there is so much mis-information. We were told there would be relief flights, which would be great, but we’ve heard nothing from the (UK) Government since we registered our location with them; we heard that the Dubai Government is covering the hotel bills for guests who are stranded, but guests are still being charged, although we’ve seen a decree from the Abu Dhabi Government saying bills there will be covered.
Lindsey said she has managed to book flights home on Friday, but she accused airlines of unfairly inflating fares. “We are also hearing that some hotel guests are being charged a higher rate to extend their accommodation, though we were charged the same rate as when we booked,” she added.
While she said the situation in Dubai is remarkably ‘normal’, with tourists still visiting shopping malls and sunbathing outside on the beach and by hotel pools, as shown in these photos she took, the lack of communication is causing the most stress.
“We are all just waiting for advice but getting mixed messages and the unknown is the most worrying thing.”
Aspire Travel has three families in Dubai who were moved to hotel basements on Saturday night. Owner Kelly Baldwin said the agency’s Cambridge Branch Manager Amy Richardson ‘couldn’t sleep knowing they couldn’t sleep’, and stayed up with them, communicating regularly, as well as dealing with other cancellations and re-routes.
“The families were unaware at first, then became scared,” Kelly told Travel Gossip. “They went to bed and shut off the news to be woken to requests to get to the basement. Amy has supported them around the clock through phone, email and WhatsApp.”
Initially, Amy rebooked them on new flights, but is the company has since had to extend the families’ stay in Dubai as flight cancellations were extended on Sunday.
Some agents have reported struggling to get through to operators, who have said they are dealing with bookings in order of priority. One agent said he was told by a supplier their phone lines had been clogged up by retailers calling on behalf of clients who are travelling outside of the next 72 hours, against the suppliers advice.
Agents have posted on social media to thank suppliers and to support each other.
Spa Travel owner Paul Dayson posted: “Respect to all agents working all day to sort clients out. But ultra massive respect to Jetset and staff. Adrian Smyth and Paul Molyneux. Superb service.”
Sutton Travel owner Andy Tomlinson posted on Travel Gossip’s Facebook group on Sunday to say: “Today has been a very stress/tough one since very early this morning, but our tour operator partners working together with their agents in situations like this, for the benefit of our clients, is warming to the soul.
“What an amazing industry we are part of, when everyone pulls together like this.”
Andy added the was ‘Hoping and praying for a quick return to flights’ in the Middle East region ‘so this whole saga is as short-lived as possible.’
Agent Kate Austin said: “We’ve got to sit tight through this and help each other.”
See also: Fire breaks out at Dubai hotel during Iran attack; Middle East flights grounded
And: BA and easyJet cancel flights to Cyprus as Middle East crisis escalates
