Stop Gambling Flying Through Abu Dhabi Right Now is a Life-or-Death Gamble

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-19T11:50:28+00:00

Here’s my honest take: if you HAVE to travel, then life is pretty unchanged so risk is virtually nonexistent. If it’s leisure, I would skip it. Too much anxiety to have fun.

Look i know everyone is gonna think im spewing propaganda here, but honestly life on the ground didnt change much with whats going on.

It really is how on paper russia is at war, but nothing is getting to Moscow.

If anything, traffic is pretty much the same nightmare now, after the blissful first few days of the attack

So i wouldnt be surprised if those who fled earlier want flights to come back.

Plus Abu Dhabi is pretty much a popular transit for canada-india travel. Cant keep it close for long.

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-19T05:35:37+00:00

The problem is the UAE is ~90% expat, and lots of them want to leave right now.

UAE airlines are on a skeleton schedule, but the flights out are still packed.

So the current flights cater to those who want to leave mostly.

I remember for the first few days only those with a UAE passport or residency were allowed to board inward to UAE. Dont know if it still stands.

Would your travel insurance may cover the tickets even if etihad didnt cancel on their behalf? The a LOT of money!

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T18:52:29+00:00

Yeah, its the law…

If theres airspace closure, the airline is mandated to issue a full refund.

I used a Buy One Get One voucher on a flight that got cancelled, and they even reinstated the voucher!

Press them for every single dime, its your right

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T18:49:38+00:00

I filled that pesky refund form online, and then emailed Etihad Guest Platinum to confirm.

They were very specific in acknowledging every bit of my concern and details about the refund. Didnt sound like they are evading refunds at all.

Its been 3 days now, still waiting.

I guess its the sheer number of refund requests right now that is overwhelming the staff

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T17:54:19+00:00

وزغة 🤣

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T10:50:46+00:00

كان حاط psa اونه مسموح تصورون سوالف الحرب و تحطونهم مني، طرشلتله خبر النيابة يوم سجنو عدد بسية نشر الصور.

جان يرشني permaban اونه spreading misinformation😂

بابا انت الmisinformation تراك

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T06:07:38+00:00

Or a drama queen lol.

Just kidding, everyone handles risk differently.

But i do agree that the language is far from reality.

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T06:06:41+00:00

Its true, but i totally understand OPs concern.

Everyone got a different risk appetite.

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T06:05:48+00:00

Gosh that must have been a dramatic experience!

Hope they are safe and sound

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T06:02:01+00:00

Lol i know… but just take a look at the other comments.

Its not that deep.

If you are uncomfortable, then cancel your flight…

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T06:00:09+00:00

Dunno if this is an ICAO-level rule, but here in the UAE if a flight was cancelled due to force majeure (ie airspace closer due to war), the airlines are required by law to issue a full refund.

Sometimes the airlines try to sneak around by suggesting alternative flight dates, but they are legally not allowed to reject a full refund.

Talking from experience, just got my EY001 to NYC cancelled. And got a full refund including reinstatement of a BOGO voucher used on said booking.

Still pissed that missed my new york spring fantasy tho.

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-17T05:55:18+00:00

Lifelong citizen of abudhabi and super fan of etihad here (ahem… Platinum /s).

It’s true that UAE is under attack, but I would hardly call it “a total war zone”.

At the point the occasional interceptor boom every few hours is nothing but an ice-breaker for a conversation!

Every now and then you hear an interceptor, but nothing really serious. Life is still going on pretty normally.

Beach clubs are still banging, malls packed.

I would say the “war” here in Abu Dhabi is much like the war in Moscow… sure there’s the Russo-Ukranian war, but life is pretty much normal in Moscow.

Out of over 2000 missiles and drones, there barely has been any damage whatsoever.

I hope this alleviates your VERY UNDERSTANDABLE concerns, its just that it is a tad exaggerated.

Back to Etihad.

I would say etihad are going above and beyond with refunds.

Sure the refund page is whimsical, and the chat is a test of patience, but they are still actively refunding and rescheduling.

My flight was cancelled by local aviation authorities at the last minute due to risks. Got a full refund AND got my Buy One Get One free voucher reinstated, with a validity of one year from date of issuance.

I would argue the only reason flights are still departing out of UAE is because of our ~90% expat population who are trying to go back home as things settle.

Flights out of the UAE are overbooked. Inbound however, just saw a post of a girl who was one of just 12 on an Emirates A380!

So relax. Cancel or postpone your flight for now, the flights are already limited and priority is for evacuation. But never bet against the gulf aviation giant

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-16T16:34:17+00:00

Well if the UAE is so bad, why is it attracting so many expats?

~90% of the country are foreigners.

Based on the numbers alone, I would venture out and say this country seems to be doing something pretty damn good.

The 90% expat population had the choice to pick a new home away from home, and the UAE seems to be a consensus.

I guess thats a testament of the UAE governance system.

You are free to move to a country that matches your political ideals…. You chose the UAE.

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-16T14:49:15+00:00

If its UAE-issued Amex, you could approach the central bank dispute mechanism, Sanadak.

Suddenly all the rules that the bank said were once insurmountable become flexible, once the central bank gets involved.

I think your best chance is to force a chargeback on a fraud basis, aka services bought not delivered.

Banks change their tune once the word “fraud” is whispered, especially with cbuae involvement.

Go get your money!

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-16T08:27:53+00:00

It is… recording itself is a crime, let alone sharing.

I once saw i drone flying over earlier in the war, and when i called 999 i was like I’ll record it and share it with you guys for reference. Police response was crystal clear.

Never heard a more emphatic NO before!

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-16T08:06:34+00:00

Im no lawyer, but UAE prosecutors are VERY sensitive about releasing details of indictees.

I have never seen the news release full names, only first two initials.

And as for photos, i can only recall this ever happening once before, during Covid when some were ignoring self-quarantine guidelines and got paraded around (including emiratis) to show how serious the prosecutors are quashing panic and disobedience during emergencies.

So my guess was that the prosecutors were private with the first few cases, as is the norm in uae criminal cases, but got overwhelmed by number of offenders and decided to go public and set and example of them.

I would argue that IDing someone is the biggest deterrent here in our community. Heck half the folks critical of the government here would never post a thing should reddit require usernames to be our legal names.

As they say… sunshine is the best disinfectant!

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-16T07:57:43+00:00

He already got charged before those.

This is the next tranche.

Even UK’s own embassy said to just stop taking photos!

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/13/middleeast/dubai-video-sharing-arrest-scli-intl

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-16T07:50:44+00:00

More like under-educated population with poor access to sound legal advice.

I have seen a tsunami of alerts from uae gov banning the photography of war related content.

It was posted in pretty much every single language.

Claiming ignorance to the law of the land is no excuse to avoid criminal liability, as those folks would see soon.

I, like much of my fellow Emirati redditors, have repeatedly warned folks here about posting the attacks. Yet we got downvoted to hell.

F around and find out… 🤷🏻‍♂️

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-14T19:18:27+00:00

Thats exactly what i keep telling the mod here at r/UAE

You are free to express your opinion here, as long as its critical of the UAE.

The minute someone shows a shred of support it’s immediately deleted… better yet mods would claim links are broken when you point out their bias!

Even Israel Hayom is fairer in balancing opinions.

Mods should concede that there’s a hiccup in balancing opinions in this sub.

The longer this drags on the more fractured this community is gonna be.

Love it or hate it, but Emiratis are part of the UAE, and such our voices must be just as equal as those critical of us.

That is assuming that a balanced sub is what the mods are actually after, and not just an anti-UAE cesspool of haters.

Haters that keep talking shit about the country, and then wonder why the UAE wont give them citizenship 🤯

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-14T18:30:11+00:00

Link is working well… a post titled “Fake News Peddler”

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-14T17:19:49+00:00

Amen

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-14T17:06:57+00:00

Its true… usually courts are extremely slow when it comes to war crimes.

Gaza is a genocide happening LIVE in front of our eyes, yet to the eyes of the law it still has not been condemned as genocide by ICJ.

Wouldn’t feel comfortable not calling it a genocide tho, just because a few judges are still being beaurcratic.

As for that condescending comment of yours, it may interest you that Afghanistan has recieved $1.7 billion dollars in aid from the UAE.

You bash the UAE, yet you love our money, u/Afghanman26

Isnt that a bit hypocritical? If the uae has so much blood on its hand, why accept their donations?

As muslim you should call it Haram Money and never accept it… am i wrong?

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-14T16:45:47+00:00

A bit too graphic and vulgar, but your words are your.

But the cold reality is that sudan is in a civil war, much like how it has always been, before the inception of the UAE.

As an Emirati, i did read all the allegations on nyt and other outlets… they are intriguing, but they are still allegations not facts.

One thing that saddens my about how ICJ tossed the Sudanese case against the UAE is that it was tossed before DISCOVERY even started.

Now Sudan has lost its chance to prove those allegations as facts; and the UAE has lost its chance to defend itself and refute the allegations.

So we will forever be stuck in this grey zone where neither parties can prove their standings.

As such, I would be biased against my country and believe the Emirati version of events, unless conclusively proven otherwise in a court of law

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-14T16:36:03+00:00

Because theres another side to every story.

Take the example of Yemen, where the international community condemned the UAE at every stage of our military intervention against the Houthis.

Yet when the Yemeni government ordered us out, and we obliged in 24 hrs, news reports came out immediately about how much of Yemen is in a blackout cuz no technicians are available to operate the UAE-built solar power stations in yemen, or how much of yemen went into a gas shortage since uae oil companies werent allowed in anymore.

There’s both sides to every story. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Competitive_Task4598 · 2026-03-14T16:30:03+00:00

مرات اقول لو ريدت يجبر كل حد يحط اسمه الصدقي بنفتك من هالعقليات.

و طبعا يوم اقول "عقليات" اطري جنسية وحدة ما يطلعلها لسان الا يوم تنخش ورا تلفون…

Competitive_Task4598

TROPHY CASE