ABU DHABI, DUBAI, DOHA: Gulf airlines flying into north eastern USA had to ground their flights due to the potential impact of winter storm Stella on flight operations at US East Coast airports.
Several Emirates airline flights scheduled to operate on 14th March were delayed or cancelled, an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
Emirates advised passengers departing or arriving at US destinations during this period to check their flight status for the latest information regarding their flights.
Affected passengers are being re-booked on alternate flights to their destinations, the spokesperson said. “We are closely monitoring the situation. We apologise for any inconvenience, the safety of our crew and passengers is of the utmost importance.”
Emirates cancelled flights on 14th March, 2017 are:
- EK 203 Dubai to New York JFK
- EK 204 New York JFK to Dubai
- EK 201 Dubai to New York JFK
- EK 208 New York JFK to Dubai
- EK 239 Dubai to Boston
- EK 240 Boston to Dubai
- EK 237 Dubai to Boston
- EK 238 Boston to Dubai
- EK 209 Athens to Newark (Dubai- Athens sector will operate)
- EK 210 Newark to Athens (Athens- Dubai sector will operate)
Emirates Airline’s delayed flights on 14th March, 2017
- EK 231 Dubai to Washington D.C. (originally scheduled to depart at 02.25am, departed at 04.25am local time Dubai)
- EK 232 Washington D.C. to Dubai (originally scheduled to depart at 11.10am will now depart at 1.00pm local time Washington D.C.)
- EK 205 Milan to New York JFK (originally scheduled to depart at 3.00pm will now depart at 6.00pm local time Milan)
- EK 206 New York JFK to Milan (originally scheduled to depart at 10.20pm local time will now depart at 00.00am on 15th March local time New York)
- EK 207 Dubai to New York JFK (originally scheduled to depart at 3.00pm will now depart at 5.00pm local time Dubai)
- EK 202 New York JFK to Dubai (originally scheduled to depart at 11.45pm will now depart at 1.30am on 15th March local time New York)
Storm Stella affects Etihad flights
Etihad Airways’ flight EY103 from Abu Dhabi to New York on 14 March 2017 was cancelled due to severe storm Stella in the Northeast.
Consequently, flight EY102 from New York to Abu Dhabi on 14 March is also cancelled.
Etihad Airways’ flight EY101 from Abu Dhabi to New York on 14 March will be upgraded to an Airbus A380 aircraft to accommodate a large number of the guests affected by the cancellations. The upgraded service may be delayed dependent on the development of the storm.
The airline will continue to monitor the weather conditions closely while assisting all affected passengers and advising them of itinerary changes.
Etihad Airways flights to and from Washington D.C, and Chicago are not anticipated to be affected and currently operate per schedule.
Etihad Airways is offering the following options for guests who have already purchased tickets involving travel to/from New York on 13 March who may wish to alter their flight plans as a result of the adverse weather conditions in New York:
One free of charge move to another date of travel on/before 20 March 2017 in the original class of booking.
Change fees are waived for this one instance only. Any subsequent changes will be subject to normal re-issue fees.
Refunds and cancellation fees will be processed according to the applicable fare rule.
Concerned passengers are advised to contact the Etihad Airways Contact Centre on +971 (0) 2599 0000, call the airline office in the US at 1 888 8 ETIHAD.
Qatar Airways flights to US cancelled
A few flights from Doha to New York were cancelled by Qatar Airways.
QR 703 and QR 701 to New York were cancelled while QR 743 to Boston was cancelled.
– By Rajive Singh