Airlines across the Middle East have introduced emergency booking waivers after US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered widespread airspace restrictions across the region, forcing carriers to suspend services, reroute flights and operate through tightly controlled aviation corridors. For travellers, the response has been a series of announcements promising flexibility – waived change fees, extended ticket validity and rebooking options from major regional carriers including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.
But how do these policies actually work in practice? Aviation specialists say they function less like open-ended, flexible tickets and more like temporary commercial waivers designed to manage an operational backlog. As a result, many travellers only discover the limits of these policies once they attempt to make changes.
Emergency waivers replace normal fare flexibility
Current airline policies are very different from the pandemic-era flexibility travellers became accustomed to between 2020 and 2022. At that time, airlines issued broad travel credits that remained valid for months or even years. Waivers related to current airspace closures are designed for a far more immediate operational goal: clearing disrupted passengers from the system as quickly as possible once airspace restrictions begin to ease.
According to Alena Iakina, founder of travel platform visarun.ai, travellers often misinterpret the scope of these policies. “Flexible conditions sound generous, but they only apply in specific cases,” she says. “For major Middle East carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad, free rebooking or refunds generally apply only to flights departing before a defined deadline and to tickets purchased directly through the airline.”
The method of booking can significantly affect how easily travellers can make changes. Travellers who booked through online travel agencies are facing an additional hurdle. Because airline reservations technically belong to the original point of sale, many carriers are currently directing passengers back to the platform where the ticket was purchased rather than processing refunds or changes themselves.
In practical terms, this means travellers who booked through sites such as Expedia or Trip.com may find airlines declining to handle their requests directly. During disruptions linked to government-ordered airspace closures or military activity, airlines often shift responsibility for processing refunds and rebookings back to the original booking channel, creating a gap where passengers can struggle to reach overloaded agency support teams. “If you booked through a travel agency or aggregator, you must handle changes through that channel – otherwise you may lose refund rights,” Iakina explains.
What Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways are offering
The practical effect of these waivers varies between airlines, reflecting the operational constraints each carrier currently faces.
Emirates, which operates the largest international hub in the region, has temporarily suspended scheduled flights to and from Dubai, while running a limited number of repatriation services. Passengers affected by cancellations can currently rebook for travel on or before 27 March 2026, while refunds are available for bookings scheduled up to 10 March.
Etihad Airways has issued a dedicated disruption waiver for tickets issued on or before 28 February. Passengers with travel planned up to 10 March can rebook without change fees for flights departing before 31 March, and the airline is allowing rerouting to alternative destinations within its network in certain cases.
Qatar Airways, meanwhile, remains constrained by ongoing airspace restrictions overseen by the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority. Passengers scheduled to travel between 28 February and 10 March can request a full refund or make a one-time date change within 14 days of the original departure date, creating a much narrower window for rebooking.
“Free changes” rarely mean cost-free travel
Another point frequently misunderstood by passengers is the difference between waived change fees and the underlying ticket fare. Removing the administrative fee for a booking modification does not always eliminate the price difference between flights.
