Travel Counsellor Sorrel Ashton said it had been an “emotional” few days working tirelessly to bring home clients who were visiting Dubai when US and Israeli strikes on Iran brought war to the Middle East.
Having helped four of her ten stranded clients get home safely, the Wirral-based advisor is now focusing on repatriating the six others from the Emirati city. “One of these bookings is a couple in their early 40s," she explained.
"They’re desperate to get out – one half is a war veteran who has broken his prosthetic leg. He's currently got it held together with duct tape but he needs to have it fixed in order to fly. I’ve been able to find a specific clinic that should be able to help him out.”
Ashton added his other half has been suffering from panic attacks after noticing shrapnel on their balcony. “I’ve moved them to another hotel and have them on a waitlist for the next available flight out," she continued.
Ashton’s spirits were bolstered, though, by a recent success story involving a client who left for a business trip to Dubai last week. After working around the clock, she managed to secure a seat on a flight leaving the city during the early hours of Wednesday morning (4 March).
“I was there when he surprised his daughters on the school run, because our kids go to the same school,” she said. “It was just the most adorable thing when they jumped into his arms. I’ll remember it for the longest time.”
Ashton said the ordeal has taken a toll on her work-life balance. “Apparently, I’ve been talking about missiles in my sleep,” she said. “I'm also living on takeaway food because there’s no time to cook.”
She believes there is a silver lining though, with acquaintances and strangers reaching out to her for her expertise. “We’re [agents] really showing our worth,” she added.
Meanwhile, Nat Adams of Travel Counsellors has had multiple successes, including repatriating a corporate traveller who’d been stranded in Dubai just one day after his original departure date. She has also assisted a family who’d been travelling to Thailand directly, rerouting their flight to ensure they didn’t transit through the Middle East.
Fellow Travel Counsellor Daniel Henry Adams has also managed to support his customers, revealing he had moved clients who’d been stranded in Dubai to a safer location in Ras Al Khaimah.
Many others are taking to social media to keep clients updated about airline changes, with British Airways’ cancellation of Abu Dhabi flights until “later this year” the latest disruption to rattle the industry.
Stress, limited sleep and lost earnings
Meanwhile, Liv Ponniah, founder of Liv & Travel, said the crisis has already had a significant impact on her sales. “It’s been so stressful,” she said. “I lost more than £70,000 in bookings in one day owing to the airspace closure.”
Ponniah has also been forced to rejig itineraries for clients in southeast Asia who have found themselves stuck in Vietnam due to their return flight being routed via Doha. “I’ve cancelled the Doha portion and, because it’s a package booking, I've extended their stay by an additional three nights,” she told TTG.
“I moved their flight back to ensure they have a seat if the airspace does open, and they will be venturing to Cambodia for an extended holiday. So far, all OK, but let’s see in another week's time.”
This sentiment was echoed by Moreno Intranova, founder of Moreno Luxury Travel, who has been working through illness to support his clients. “It’s been a stressful. No sleep, a heavy cold, on/off my laptop trying to secure two seats on a repatriation flight for my best clients stranded in Dubai,” he said.
“But… success! Now I’m keeping everything crossed that the flight operates in the coming days."
All's well that ends well... so far
Not all agents' clients are anxious to return to the UK immediately, though. Lizzie Adamson-Browne, founder of Rhythm and Routes, says she’s currently dealing with a retired couple who are content to extend their 12-week tour of southeast Asia. “They’re just happy to stay in Thailand, and because it’s not that expensive, they’re very relaxed about it,” she said.
Adamson-Browne said she was preparing to manage clients’ expectations about compensation, describing the issue as “a crystal ball situation". “We really just don’t know, and there’s so much misinformation online about it,” she added.
Other advisors, like Travel Counsellor Karen Thornton, have been left relatively unscathed by the crisis. “I’ve been lucky as I’ve not had any ongoing flights to re-book yet, but I have a family there on their first trip with two-year-old twins who arrived last Friday,” she told TTG.
“They were very scared at the weekend but today they managed to get to the aquarium in the mall, which was great. They are now checked in to fly home tomorrow as booked and I’ve reconfirmed their transfer, so I’m hoping they’ll be home late tomorrow afternoon.”
