Last update: 10 March 2026
Help getting a refund from Etihad Airways during Iran / Middle-east disruptions
Of the three Middle East airways which are affected by the Iran / Middle East turmoil, Etihad Airways is clearly one of the worst.
Let us be clear: Everybody fully understands that the flight cancellations totally makes sense and that the safety of staff and passengers is the most important thing.
And even if you are stuck in Abu Dhabi now, there is not a lot you can do. This article however is aiming for passengers who still hold future flight tickets and have flights the next coming days or weeks.
For example: You have a ticket Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi-Bangkok for 18 March 2026. At the time of writing, that’s eight days from now. Your flight is still not cancelled, but on the other hand, neither has Etihad published a (revised) flight schedule. So you are still in limbo what to do.
According to article 9.2.2. of Etihad Airways own General Conditions of Carriage you are entitled for a rebooking within the Etihad-network. But this is not possible since all flights within their network are disrupted. Alternatively, they should rebook you with another airline. For example with Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific. Or as last resort, they should offer you a refund.
If Etihad Airways is not rebooking you via another airline, and you really need to get to your destination, and you are able to rebook yourself and have the financial funds to pay for a second ticket, you really should do that. You can always claim this alternative flight ticket. And you are going to win this 100% in court.
The only disadvantage is: you have to pay out of pocket in advance.
The General Conditions of Carriage of Etihad Airways:
9.2.2 Subject to Article 9.2.4, if we:
(a) cancel a flight due to be operated by us; or
(b) fail to operate a flight reasonably according to the schedule, fail to stop at your destination or Stopover; or
(c) cause you to miss a connecting flight operated by us on which you hold a confirmed reservation,
We shall, with due consideration to your reasonable interests either:
(i) carry you and your Baggage at the earliest opportunity on another of our scheduled services on which space is available in the class of service in which you were originally booked without additional charge and, where necessary, extend the validity of your Ticket; or
(ii) within a reasonable period of time, re-route you and your Baggage to the destination shown on your Ticket (or to an alternate destination requested by you and agreed to at our discretion) by our own services or another airline selected by us without additional charge.; or
(iii) provide a refund subject to the provisions of Articles 3.1.11 and 10.2.
Why if Etihad Airways refuses to do this during the Iran / Middle East disruptions?
If Etihad Airways is not helping you out, you can start a court case under the EU261-Regulation if your are flying out of Europe, or under UK261-Regulation if you flying out of the UK. If you are flying from other jurisdictions; you are covered unther the 1999 Montreal Convention article 19 and 22. See full text here.
You have a few options:
- You can go to court yourself. In most countries consumers don’t need a lawyer if their claim is under 5000 EUR. This is a so called ‘Small Claims Procedure’. In general you only have to pay court fees which can get up to 300 EUR.
- You can ask a lawyer to it for you. However, on top of the 300 EUR court fees, you also have to pay the lawyer. And we all know, that’s expensive.
- You can assign your claim to an Claims Management Agency (like us). Those agencies typically take a 35% ‘no cure, no pay’ cut of the amount they get you refunded. We charge a bit less, 25% to be exact.