A British couple, who, along with many other travelers, have been “stranded” in Bali due to the travel advisory from the British Foreign Office not to travel to Dubai, described their situation as “stranded in paradise.”
Jeff and Wendy Spencer, from Surrey, left the United Kingdom on January 31 for a month-long trip to New Zealand. Upon their return, they added a three-night stay in Bali, with return flights to London’s Heathrow Airport booked for March 6 with Emirates via Dubai.
However, their plans changed from retaliation to Tehran’s attacks on the US-Israeli attacks, with the Dubai airport being among the targets.
The airspace was temporarily closed in the UAE and other Gulf countries, disrupting the travel plans of about half a million passengers daily.
Tens of thousands of British holidaymakers are currently stranded across Asia, Australasia and Africa after mass flight cancellations by Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.
Emirates quickly resumed flights from Bali to its hub in the UAE. An Airbus A380 SuperJumbo flies daily from the island directly to Dubai, with further connections to most airports served by Emirates in the UK.
Tickets to the United Kingdom are available immediately from the airline’s website for approximately £700 for one-way travel. Passengers such as Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, whose previous bookings were cancelled, can choose one of the replacement flights for free.
Emirates confirmed to The Independent: “We accept passengers who are transiting through Dubai, as long as their connecting flight is also operated by Emirates.” But 72-year-old Wendy Spencer claimed that the travel company told them to wait to make sure there was a flight that didn’t go through the Middle East.
Distant Journeys, a Lancashire-based company, informed the couple that they could not fly via Dubai because, according to a directive from the British Foreign Office, all non-essential travel to the UAE should be avoided.
Invalid travel insurance
Travel companies must comply with the FCDO’s warnings, which make an exception for “transit through the airport” in certain areas for which travel advisories have been issued, including parts of Mexico and Ecuador. But for Gulf countries, passengers who simply want to change planes are considered to be violating official government guidelines, which makes their travel insurance invalid.
The travel insurance company True Traveller says to policyholders: “If you travel despite the FCDO’s advice and your policy excludes such travel, claims arising from this decision may not be covered.”
75-year-old Jeff Spencer told The Independent, “We would be home by now if the State Department had said it was okay to travel. There are risks. They can explain it clearly to people and they can make their own choice, and then the travel company could give us a choice: ‘Do you want to take the risk or not?’ I suspect 90% of people in our category would say, ‘Get us on the plane.'”
According to the Regulations for Organized Travel, Distant Journeys is obligated to pay for up to three nights in the event of a flight disruption. The company actually provided six nights at the luxury resort Merusaka Nusa Dua for the Spencers, but now the couple is paying for their stay.
Mr. Spencer said: “While for many the fact that we were excluded in Bali may sound like being excluded in paradise, I can assure you that the feeling is not exactly that. You live with a suitcase, waiting for information day by day. This is disappointing, as you cannot organize large excursions in Bali while waiting for the phone call that will give you the green light to board a flight.”
“You feel like the Hotel California – you can leave whenever you want, but you can never leave,” he added.
What the travel company and FCDO claim
A Distant Journeys representative said: “Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our customers, ensuring they return to their home in the UK as soon as possible and safely, and our team is working around the clock to explore every available flight option. According to the FCDO’s recommendations, we do not transport customers through areas of the Middle East where all travel except for the absolutely necessary is advised against, even if airlines operate flights. As a responsible UK travel agent, we take seriously our duty to look after our customers, always putting their safety first.”
As he explained, the options for scheduled flights that avoid the Middle East are currently extremely limited. “In response, we are working continuously to ensure safe alternatives, including organizing a special charter flight from Colombo to the United Kingdom with an Airbus A350,” he noted.
He added that repatriating travelers from various countries across Asia was a complex and costly operation.
The Spencer couple, along with other passengers, will travel by air to Sri Lanka, covering a distance of 2,700 miles.
A FCDO spokesperson said: “The safety and security of British nationals throughout the region remains our top priority. We will continue to monitor the security situation and will always prioritize security.”
