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Etihad passengers demand refund after failure to fly to Nairobi

A model Etihad Airways plane is seen on stage in New York, U.S. November 13, 2014. (Photo: Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

By Alfred Onyango | Monday, June 17, 2024

The airline initially had plans to resume flights on the route on May 1 but later pushed this to June 1, but this did not happen for reasons it said were beyond its control.

Customers who began booking flights on the Abu Dhabi-Nairobi route with Etihad Airways on June 1, but had to obtain seats on other airlines due to a rescheduling, are demanding a refund of the additional costs they incurred.

This was after the airline halted its earlier-scheduled operations to resume passenger flights on the route.

A passenger who spoke to The Eastleigh Voice on Monday, on condition of anonymity, said that had they known the route reopening plan was not finalised, they would not have booked flights.

"After incurring extra costs finding other flights following the cancellations, we are being told Etihad will refund us minus the agent booking fees."

The airline initially had plans to resume flights on the route on May 1 but later pushed this to June 1, but this did not happen for reasons it said were beyond its control.

Passengers who had their flights cancelled said the delay in refunding the costs of sourcing tickets through travel agents had caused them a great deal of financial strain.

They had booked to fly with the carrier on different dates beginning June 1, either directly or via booking agents, after the airline announced plans to reopen the route.

Speaking on the matter, Etihad Airways' Regional Manager for Communications and Public Affairs, Anna-Sophie Poll, said the carrier would take 10 to 15 days to process the refunds.

She noted, however, that "this will be minus the extra charges customers incur to book other flights after the cancellation."

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