Etihad Airways

My booking reference is GMOGED.

MY flight back to Incheon was overbooked so I had to use another flight without my husband. His flight was on schedule.

I already had my paid seat of Etihad but it's not accepted by the airlines of my new flight so I had to endure a terrible flight.

Why did I have to ? I bought my seat in advence and didn't get any excuse, apology or compensation from you.

I still don't understand with your company's behavior.

Refund my money!

I never use your airlines again. It's horrible!

Hello,

This is to share a bad experience on board of an Ettihad Airways Flight EY613 of Oct 16th, 2022 from AbuDhabi to Casablanca Morocco.

During the flight, someone has stolen money from my wallet which was in the outer compartment of my cabin suitecase. It was a night Flight "Take offe at 02:40am" and during the flight I slept for around 2 hours. I believe during this time "the light was turned off during the flight" somebody from inside the Airplane opened the luggage cabinet and got access to my suitecase and took my wallet then took money "6860.00AED" and return the wallet back to its place in the outer compartment of the suite case.

One hour prior to landing we've been asked to fill a sanitary form required by the Moroccan authority at the border cross line, I've tried to get a pen from my suitecase and I figured out that my suitecase was moved from its initial place, and at that time I said this is mybe because of the take off...

My seat was 24D which is on the left side of the airplane Boeing 787-9, so cabinet was empty and there was only my suitecase inside and I've placed it at the right side of that cabinet which means that during the takeoff it shouldn't move...

I figured out that I've been stolen when I reached my car at the Airport parking when I check my wallet, all my money was taken...

My money was there untill I got onboard, because I've bought some choclate and parfumes from the duty free...

My Booking Number : LYA243 Full name N.H (See attached)

Attached also the boarding pass for Departure from Morocco

I'll attach the return Boarding pass (Departure from AbuDhabi) later.

October 16, 2022

The Complaints Handling Manager,

Etihad Airways, UAE

Dear Sir/Madam,

Formal Complaint against Etihad Customer Services/ Handling, Moral & Ethical Values

Our journey with Etihad a trusted and tested airline of the family started on 26th September with myself, wife, elder son and youngest son flying from Sydney to Karachi via Abu Dhabi and return from Islamabad to Sydney via Abu Dhabi again.

This was the first of our holidays after the COVID outbreak and we all had good expectations and memories flying with Etihad in the past also. Little did we know that best experiences and services we had in mind would become a nightmare for the 2 members of the family travelling on earlier dates on their way back to Sydney.

Let me share the travel details for all four members of the family during this outward journey from Sydney to Karachi:

Outward Journey Sydney to Karachi:

Passenger Name Airline Ref No Comments

Wamiq R. Khan EY*YQTDPU Seat issues /Split Seats

Faiza Wamiq Khan EY*STTVZK Satisfactory

Maaz Khan Tareen (CHD) EY*STTVZK Satisfactory

Danial Khan Tareen EY*XZJUFM Seat issues/ split seats

1. The outward journey from Sydney to Karachi was reasonably satisfactory except that split seats were allocated to the family largely owing to the airlines policy of opening online seat selections only a few hours before the departure. Secondly it was my younger child’s birthday on the departure date from Sydney and as per reputation and customer care services of Etihad my wife requested an announcement from the flight purser or the pilot to announce a birthday wish for the customer to make the child happy. The request was blatantly refused by the crew to the total dismay of the family.

Return Journey:

Two members of the family Myself and Danial Khan Tareen (son) were booked to travel before my wife and younger son. Before getting into details of the sordid, unpleasant and totally unacceptable episode that awaited us, let me give out details of the returning passengers.

Passenger Name Airline Ref No Comments

Wamiq Rashid Khan EY*YQTDPU Totally unsatisfactory & unacceptable experience

Danial Khan Tareen EY*XZJUFM Totally unsatisfactory & unacceptable

1. Both of us went in the check in counter to board flight EY 232 from Islamabad to Abu Dhabi on 11/10/2022 to continue to our final destination by transferring to flight EY 450 to Sydney via Abu Dhabi (seats confirmed for both sectors). On approaching the counter boarding cards for the Islamabad to Abu Dhabi sector were provided only, asking us to go to the passenger transfer counter in Abu Dhabi to access boarding pass for our forward journey to Sydney. This was not normal practise as boarding cards for the two sectors is generally assigned at the time of departure. I had a bit of a heated argument with the traffic staff as they were unable to answer my queries for not being provided boarding passes for the next sector. All they could say was that the airline has blocked the forward allocations due to some reasons. I being a frequent traveller sensed some foul play at the onset of my journey. Having no other choice, we kept our fingers crossed and tried to brace ourselves to what awaited us in the offing.

2. On reaching the transfer desk on arrival in Abu Dhabi we were told to wait as there was initially news of overbooking and later equipment change which was causing the delay. Again, the experience with the ground staff at the transfer counters was very frustrating as no clear message was being conveyed. We also spoke with their senior staff an arrogant lady from Indian origin, who was not ready to hear anything and treating the customers in a harsh and loud tone. After a wait of 3 hours plus we were told along with some other passengers that we will have to stay back till the next day evening flight scheduled at 9:50 pm. As we were without our baggage, fresh clothes, medicines and other stuff needed for any stay over was not available with us. We were really disappointed as Etihad could not honour its commitments on confirmed seats with tickets issued months back.

3. Looking at it, this was the first time in my 50 years plus of travelling experience, I was faced with a situation that was emerging into an ugly nightmare that would follow especially with an organisation of repute i.e., Etihad Airways. On accepting the fate, we agreed and were provided each with some gift, hotel and Taxi tokens and were told to approach another counter for the taxi vouchers etc. There was no guidance as to the appropriate whereabouts of this counter. We ran from pillar to post to get the directions for this desk and after an hour of search, someone finally sent us to the concerned counter. Please keep in mind that all this untoward episode took place after 2 – 3 hours of flying and an accumulated time of around 7 hours of wait to get these bloody coupons.

4. “The story doesn’t end here on the said counter where we were to receive the coupons for Taxi, the staff manipulated and provided us with a one-way taxi coupon while managing to keep our gift coupons with them which were as told earlier $300 for each passenger”. The missing coupons were noted on arriving at the hotel hours later. We were also told that the hotel would arrange for our return journey to the airport which turned out to be a blatant lie. Due to exhaustion and fatigue at this point we could hardly understand what was really happening with us through the chain of events owing to bad airline policies along with negligent staff with no moral or ethical values.

5. On reaching the hotel (IBIS) we were checked in and were told that food, water and tea is allowed for Etihad customers without access to gym and swimming and pool areas. To our utter dismay we were also told that as per Emirates policy people without a fresh PCR test were not allowed to go into public places in the city and could only go to open spaces. We were, generally saying blocked for two whole days in the hotel area. This point was never explained by any of the Etihad staff we interacted with at the airport otherwise a PCR test could have been managed at the airport facilities.

Another issue we encountered at the hotel facility was we were unable to change Australian dollars to local currency. This again restricted us from using other hotel facilities like restaurants and bars, as drinks were not free for Etihad customers. Both father and son spent almost two days like a prisoner at the hotel facility due to lack of appropriate policies of the airline towards this end along with unethical staff with no customer services skills.

6. The next day we were supposed to board our flight for Sydney. After breakfast at 10.30 am, we were told by the hotel staff that we were supposed to check out by 12:30 pm same day. I argued with the staff that our flight is scheduled at 9:55 pm and that we had our boarding cards available and with other facilities restricted to us in the city where were we supposed to spend 9 hours before flight time. The staff explained that we had the boarding vouchers valid only for 1 day and I could understand their point of view. Again, should I be blaming the Etihad policies or staff negligence in working out these details. Last but not the least, when we inquired about the taxi facility for the return journey worked out between the hotel and Etihad, we were told that as such there was no arrangements between the two organisations. They tried to connect us by phone to responsible Etihad staff, but due to automated airline phone systems, we could not connect with any Etihad staff. It turned out that what was advised to us by the voucher issuing staff was a blatant lie.

7. How ever we paid for our return fare to the airport, where we spent something like 7-8 hours on the flight terminal/ duty free area and the passenger lounge. We were physically exhausted and fatigued before a gruesome long journey of another 14 hours to Sydney. We thought that the worst was over.

8. On top of all the miseries faced by us at the time of boarding I was allocated seat no 20G and my son 20K which was a window seat of his liking. At the boarding check in counter within the passenger lounge the ground hostess told my son that his seat has to be changed from the window seat to the one next to me i.e. seat No 20F. I interfered in this argument to know the reason for this change and without assigning the reason she tore down his original boarding card and issued a new one with a very negative attitude asking us rudely to move on. On my way to the jet bridge, I told the dealing hostesses that I am fed up with Etihad services and would report this incident to the management which was handled in an insulting manner. With a mocking smile she responded that we could do anything we want and asked us not to hold the queue and move on.

Based on the ordeal narrated above, I will provide an opportunity to the concerned management officials to critically evaluate the whole episode lasting over more than 48 hours in which several operational departments of Etihad Airways miserably failed to provide credible services, staff engaged in cheating and deceiving customers while putting the integrity and good name of the organisation in jeopardy.

Let me tell you seriously that we might not be the only one who have gone through this miserable experience alone. There could be hundreds or maybe thousands of other customers who had to pass through this nightmare at some level every day.

The systems, procedures, protocols and the human factors involved in operational areas which adversely affects customer services need to be seriously and critically examined by the decision-making authorities to protect the image and business of the organisation from being tarnished.

We understand organisations have suffered in terms of profits in COVID era. However, the need is to deliver and enforce policies that are customer friendly. Short term quick profits fixes would badly impact the organisational image and would not sustain in the long term.

Lastly, I had flown Etihad on several occasions, have good memories of the highest customer services received but the bitter experience and the insulting treatment I have received on this occasion is over and beyond anybody’s comprehension. With this bitter experience, I would on my part never recommend Etihad Airways to my friends, relatives and the larger community I represent.

At the end of this letter, I am seriously worried about my wife and younger child, who would be flying back home to Sydney on 22/10/2022 following the same route with Etihad. I am overtly disturbed about them facing the same or similar treatment, broken support services and harsh experience as meted by us.

Kind regards,

Wamiq R. Khan

Cellular: 0061 [protected]

Email: [protected]@hotmail.com

my name is wagdi gamal nashed i am a golden member in al ethiad airways i called etihad number at 8 of october a lady called marina for booking 2 tickets from abudhabiii international airport to cairo to pay for economy and up grate it to buisness using the miles they did not help in finding place in the buisness class and she said she will send an emergency email and they will reply me within 2 hours they will all me back to give me the conformation but i kept waiting for 11 hours no one called me so i called them back and spoke to two people and they were not able to help me both a female lady and a man called mahomoud and i wasnt able to find place for 17 and 18 and 19 and 20 at all and this was really this appointing to me and i not feeling satisfied at all and i do not trust this i want the head of depertnment to call me as soon as posible

WAGDI NASHED

[protected]

I received travel bank credit from Etihad during the pandemic while living in Australia. This credit is valid for 2 years only. However, for the majority of time that we had the credit, it was illegal to use as the Australian government shut the borders and no commercial flights entered or exited Australia.

I have now asked for an extension to this credit which has been refused. I was informed that I could book a flight for a period of up to 12 months after the credit expired. We are going on our honeymoon in December 2023 so decided that sticking to Etihads rigid policy we would book a fully flexible flight for next year and then look to change the dates to December 2023 when flights were available. However, Etihad have stated that this is also not permissible and that if we change the date of flights that goes beyond a year of the expiry of the travel credit, we will have no option to change the date and we will lose the entire payment on the flight.

We have 2,700 EUR worth of credit which Etihad are not letting us use how we wish. Grossly unfair terms and conditions and no flexibility been given at all considering the initial circumstances surrounding the credit.

In New Delhi, the baggage check-in counter 'K' person name Afshan created chaos about the definition of a laptop bag and did not allow me to take it. The same bag is carried from the USA to New Delhi in the same Ethihad airline without any issue. He humiliates me at the airport, it was the worst experience first time in the past 12 years of my international travel experience. Kindly ensure that your employee should have some humanity and sense while dealing with a lady having a child. Even with some other people over there, he was dealing in the same way, he doesn't had the manner of how to talk. Kindly get appointed some quality and educated employees.

Etihad Airways Case reference [protected] CRM:[protected]

Luggage has been damaged beyond repair on both our flights to and from Maldives. An amount was agreed on with baggage rep Meena, and a remittance slip sent on 18.07.2022. This money never appeared. A second remittance and agreement slip took part on 12.09.2022. The same thing happened. No money has appeared. No one is answering or acknowledging the continuous emails I am sending. The is the worst customer service I have ever seen. All we want is to be able to replace our broken suitcase with a new one, which we cannot do without the agreed money. Why do you give your word, but do not keep it. My bag was broken beyond repair by your careless,inconsiderate baggage handlers, and you are trying to not send the money.

The stress and anguish this is causing is beyond description.

I'm writing in regard to my Etihad Travel Bank

I recently received an email stating that my account balance will soon expire. I have contacted Etihad customer service on a number of occasions and have been told that the expiry date cannot be extended. I feel that this is grossly unfair, as due to the Covid 19 pandemic no-one has been able to fly anywhere at all! In fact, Etihad themselves have not been flying in this time.

I have a balance of $855 AUD and I am requesting that my balance be extended for a further 12 months.

Dear Sirs,

After arrival from my recent flight from Munich (EY6) via Abu Dhabi to Manila (EY 424) on Sep 26, 2022, one suitcase (brand Bric's BELLAGIO Trolley) was missing which I reported to the Etihad Ground staff, Mr. Josen Clerigo. Calling him on Sep 28, 2022, he checked and relied on that the suitcase arrived but is "badly damaged". I picked up the suitcase, saw that both handles were missing, and was advised to file a damage report. Please refer to file reference MNLEY 17366.

This suitcase was actually bought from the Etihad store and, due to the pandemic, hardly used. I very much appreciate getting a replacement suitcase as this one cannot be fixed here in Manila.

Your comment is appreciated.

Best regards

Michael scheile

Etihad Gold Guest [protected]

I booked a flight with Etihad SUIFPP

Due to a change you made in my flight schedule, I have an overlay of 16.5 hours in Abu Dhabi.

I tried to change my flight but because I did not respond in Time (within 60 days) I would have to pay extra to make changes. I decided not to.

I have a right to a transit hotel. I tried to book one through the internet, but they are fully booked. I have send multipal e-mails but I do not get an answer as to how Etihad will solve this problem for me.

I called several times as well. From one operator I got the next number to ask for help with my transit hotel booking. [protected]. But the assistent was not able to help me and said that email was the only option. I have been waiting for weeks now and I would really like to get some answers.

We took Etihad Airways business class from Sydney via Abudhabi to London on 2nd July, flight number: EY455 AND EY19. We were told our baggage were left in the Sydney airport the moment flight landed London. We have done all the paper works were requested before we left the airport and was told that we would have our baggage delivered the next day. it has been over tow months

- no one can tell us what happened to our baggage

- No one knows what is going on

- No one called us back

I am very very very frustrated, ANGRY and disappointed about the experience. We have taken so many flights with many different airlines and this perhaps is the worst experience we ever had. No communications, no one takes responsibilities.

Seat selection booked on 18 September 2022 at 12.21pm through Etihad Guest call centre using travel bank credits. Call agent did not inform that seat selection is non-refundable. Then had to change return travel date booked through call centre at 1pm on 25 September 2022 and was only informed at that point that travel bank credits could not be refunded for seat selection and used to offset fare difference instead. I had to pay an extra almost $300 No call back or resolution from untrained agents ever. Customer service is utterly non-existant. Only using Etihad to utilise travel bank credits. Will never ever travel via this airline again or recommend it. Everything is very wrong - right from changing routes without any mention to non transparency in information sharing on public domains to customer service.

After having travelled with Etihad on a few occasions both myself and the party of 5 others feel this airline’s service has declined. We travelled to Abu Dhabi on the 21:55 flight on 8th September & returned to Heathrow on the 14:15 flight on the 19th. On both flights the food offered was very disappointing (especially if you do not like rice) I know the food is classed as complimentary however there is no option to purchase any other food on the flight.

Our biggest disappointment was with the service and attitude of the cabin crew on our return flight. The aircraft was very hot, we kept being told the air con would kick in, it never did. I became over heated and feeling like I was going to pass out (I have never passed out in my life) finding this all quite scary I ended up having a panic attack. The cabin crew suggested I went to the toilet, my legs were like jelly if I’d have got up I would have ended up on the floor. They then gave my husband some ice and some paper towels to try cool me down. I did cool down for a period of time but the air con still wasn’t working. I could feel myself overheating again so called the assistance button, I asked for more ice only to be told they didn’t have any, I asked for an ice-pack thinking they must have these in their first aid kits? I was told all they could do was give me water. The female cabin crew I was talking to did not care at all. She then brought a litre bottle of water and a handful of paper towels. I wasn’t sure if I should be trying to pour the water over the tissues whilst sat in my seat or just pour the water over my head as at this point I felt this was the only way I was going to cool down.

There were others on the flight complaining about how hot it was too.

Another member of our party also became unwell through being to hot, again no one seemed to care.

Our original booking also stated we would be flying on an airbus, this was changed to a much smaller aircraft and one with broken air con.

Very disappointing end to our holiday.

Date of Incident

Sunday 11th of September 2022 ,

I was flying from Dublin to Abu Dhabi on EY 42, Booking Reference SVZJOU ,

I was flying Business Class, I checked two bags in Dublin airport, A large grey suitcase and a smaller Pink case.

On arrival home in Abu Dhabi , when I opened my small suitcase, firstly I noticed the inside compartment had been opened and the contents had been disturbed, on closer inspection , two handbags and my kindle were missing

1 Handbag was a black velvet Gucci clutch and the other handbag was a brown Loui Viton cross body bag with a distinctive pink strap.

I have been a frequent business class flyer for almost 8 yrs and have never had any issues before, I am extremely upset and disappointed this has happened .

My Etihad guest number is [protected]

Hi,

When my Daughter get the acceptance in Manchester University (Tamara is 17 years old) I didn't think twice and my first choice is to pick Etihad Airline as 1st option due to accuracy, safety and an airline that care about customer satisfaction so I booked a ticket to Manchester UK through Munich due to unavailability of direct flight (on September 1,2022 for flight EY5, LH2500, September 11,2022), also I immediately reached out to Etihad call center to check and validate if she needs a transit visa in Munich (they confirmed back and assured us that NO need for such visa as long as my Daughter "Tamara" will stay in the transit area and will not leave the airport so we confirmed all her travel details based on that.

Yesterday we walked into the check in desk and after keeping us waiting for more than 30 min without telling us what was going on, your Etihad;s employee came back to us and said ; I cannot make her fly! she has no transit visa in Munch and we were shocked and surprised with this statement about visa to pass by Munich Airport and we confirmed to her that we already checked that with Etihad call center last week she simply said 'this is new requirements' do you think this is professional way to justify this massive change to us 3 hrs before her flight? How is it possible that nobody sends us an email or call before the flight to highlight this dramatic change?

Your employees simply said no fly for her or you can go Etihad counter to buy a new ticket and should be direct to Manchester, I had to pay an extra fees 2365 AED (EY15) to collect the new ticket and put us all in stressful mood also this change impacted her pick up car (already we paid 45 GBP UK pound) from Manchester UK which was at 10:00 am on Sunday morning from Terminal 1 to her accommodation while the new ticket at 7:25 am morning on Sunday morning - Terminal 2.

Note :Due to all of the above I'm claiming this issue and how you will compensate for all of these the extra payments and the mis planning that caused us a full 24 hours stress and till this minutes my Daughter couldn't leave the airport to her accommodation,

(changed ticket and extra payment and waiting in the airport in Abu Dhabi and Manchester especially on Sunday nobody answers in her accommodation to reach immediately)

awaiting your positive answer as soon as possible.

Note: attached the 2 tickets paid by us during this trip

My Airmiles (kamal Khalil) : : [protected]

My daughter Airmiles (Tamara Khalil) : [protected]

Please find attached the 2 tickets booked from Etihad for the same date.

Kamal N. Khalil

MOBILE : [protected]

Email : [protected]@gmail.com

I was 5 mins late to check-in for my flight 11-09-22 DOH-AUH - a route I take every month. Etihad staff told me they couldn't let me board and to call the Etihad helpline to rebook for no cost. Fair enough. But I have called NINE times already, with each call center rep promises me that the airport will respond to the email they sent them to confimr that I'm NOT a No Show. Each time I call they tell me to call 1 hour later. Most lied about their names and we're extremely rude. Twice I was told that a supervisor would call me but nothing.

Firstly, what kind of system is this that you need to wait for an email from a team/inbox that CLEARLY isn't responding? Phone? Executive decision making? Am I supposed to wait for 2 days, a week? With my visa expiring today and plans ruined. Am I supposed to keep calling every hour and waste money calling international? No responibility whatsoever as Etihad has outsourced 'helpline' to rubbish second rate call centers in India.

This is how Etihad treats loyal customers of 14 years. Earlier, they had cancelled my return flight and rebooked another for an inopportune time. I did not complain.

But Etihad can do what it wants when it wants, but the customer cannot be helped when they need help? I never experienced this with Qatar Airways once. They are a far better airline all round.

This is about my recent flight booking with Etihad Airways.

Flight from munich to mumbai and return from mumbai to munich.

Reference: ADSMSK

The flight from Munich to mumbai was perfect without much trouble. But my return flight from Mumbai to Munich was on 24th august 2022 around 19:55.

One day before departure (23rd August) i recieve a mail from Etihad that my flight got cancelled but they provide me another flight on 25th morning with TURKISH AIRLINES.

This was already a bad news for me because i had important meeting to attend on 25th which i couldnt because of the flight delay or change.

Secondly i made a booking with ETIHAD for a reason because i like the service they provide and there is a reason why i didnt want to travel with other airline such as turkish airline in this case.

My fear came true when i got on board with turkish airlines because i had one of my worst flying experience with Turkish airlines.

The crew couldnt speak English or didnt understand me, Also not very friendly or helpful.

I had to stay hungry during the flight because the crew told me that they dont have any vegetarian/ vegan food on board. i was asked if i prebooked it, my response was i booked flight via etihad and i have my preference saved there so it should be their responsibility to notify you when they book me with other airline without my permission. As a result i had to starve on my entire flight duration.

And how bad is it when you dont have enough eating option on board. This feels like me being vegan/vegetarian is my problem and have to suffer even after paying tons of money.

I dont know if i should blame turkish airlines or Etihad because i would have never booked myself on turkish airline and now i am considering to not book myself on Etihad as well because this is just not working. They charge you so much and then fail to provide you the service you paid for. The worst part is Etihad did not even care to ask for a feedback afterwards. Really dissapointed by choosing Etihad. Hope my problem is heard and a solution is provided or else i would have to warn my friends and family about the Airlines so they dont make the same mistake i did.

Thank You.

Jay Shah

Paid for seats we had booked were changed without us knowing.Food was disappointing on return flight waited over 2hours for a drink flight was delayed at Athens for over 1Hour because of incompetent staff which left us less than 20mins to catch our connecting flight my wife and I were both dehydrated from lack of water and hungry because food was disgusting plane was noisy which gave us both a headache when we finally landed at Sydney were not feeling well this was the worst flight we have ever experienced will never fly with Etihad again

We had tickets to fly out of Brisbane to Europe in April 2020, however these flights were cancelled by Etihad due to Covid-19. Etihad then transferred the costs of our flights into a travel bank (which can only be used to book flights with Etihad). I then found out that Etihad no longer flies in and out of Brisbane, therefore I cannot use the travel bank credit to book flights overseas. I should not have to/can't afford to fly to Sydney or Melbourne first to then go overseas. Therefore I requested a refund from Etihad on the 10th of May 2022. After following them up numerous times by phone and email, they finally responded to my request on the 28th of June 2022 saying that the refund had already been done. I took this to mean that they were going to refund the credit to my credit card (which I used to purchase the tickets). After not receiving the money back, I followed them up again by email on the 1st of September 2022 asking for an update on my refund. They once again responded saying that it had already been refunded. I realised that they meant it had been refunded to my travel bank as a credit (which is what they initially did in 2020). This is unacceptable, all I want it my money back which I believe is fair as they can't provide me with the same product as what I originally purchased (to be able to fly in and out of Brisbane). I believe I have a right to my money back and that it would be fair and reasonable for Etihad to give me a refund of the money I paid to my credit card.

Dear Etihad.

Almost 2 years ago I booked an Etihad flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam, with a lay-over in Abu Dhabi. This was during a time where South-East Asia was in the beginning stages of Covid-19.

The situation was as follows. The flight date was on the 31st of July and on the day of departure we got the information that from August onwards anyone travelling in or through Abu Dhabi would need a PCR test. However, since Etihad provided this information too late, we weren't in the position to do this test AND get the result in time. We arrived at the airport with a paper that we did a test, but we without the result (which back then took 24 hours to get).

So ultimately we were denied boarding, together with many others.

After this incident we wanted to apply for a refund. After trying to find information about cancellations due to covid, which were less available at the time than now, I decided to give you guys a call on your customer service hotline. Once I got through I explained my situation and tried to apply for a refund. Your Customer Service told me that instead of being able to get the refund immediately I could put it in the Travel Bank and get the cash back after a year. Up to this day I still haven't seen any of that money come back into my account. I was told this was because of Covid.

I just checked my Etihad account and now I see the balance is still in my account, but with an expiration date of September this year. To make matters worse, I read that it seems that Travel bank balances are non-refundable? Please explain why that is and why a person would ever decide to choose to put a possible refund into a travel bank account (especially during Covid, when flying is nearly impossible).

At this moment I live in China and you may or may not know that flying/leaving from China is nearly impossible and will probably stay like this untill 2024... when my balance is expired. So even if I would like to use the balance I can't...

Is there anything you guys can do with either a refund or an extension. Let it be clear that from the first action (the notice that we needed a PCR test), there has been an (understandable) incompetence on the side of Etihad that has resulted into this issue. With new rules and regulations each day we can all understand that people make mistakes, but in the end I think the (financial) consequences of these actions should be beared Etihad and not by its customers.

I am looking forward to your response.