Travel Tips Trip planning

How to cancel an Emirates flight: step by step guide

Gert Svaiko

31.01.25

Read time 3 minutes

Have a flight booked, but your plans have changed? You’ll need to know the easiest way to cancel your booking, ideally without incurring high cancellation fees.

In this handy guide for UK travellers, we’ll show you how to cancel Emirates flights in a few easy steps. This includes ways to do it online and by phone, and crucially - whether or not you can get a refund.

We’ll even give you a hot tip for low fee* holiday spending, the Wise multi-currency account from the money services provider Wise, for when you do actually make it abroad.

Learn more about the Wise multi-currency account 🚀

How to cancel Emirates flights - is it possible?

Yes, you can cancel an Emirates flight. The easiest way to do it is online at the Manage My Booking page at emirates.com, where you can make changes to your flight including cancellation.¹

Simply follow these steps:

Go to the Manage My Booking page
Enter your last name (lead passenger) and booking reference to retrieve your booking
Edit your booking and confirm the changes.

If you prefer, or if you need assistance, you can also call the airline on +443448002777 or use its Live Chat service.²

Bear in mind that there may be cancellation fees to pay, depending on your ticket type. The same goes for refunds, which depend on whether you’ve booked a refundable ticket.¹

You should be able to see whether there are any penalties or refunds due in Manage My Booking, before you go ahead and confirm the cancellation.

What to do if you make a mistake when booking Emirates flights?

Some airlines have a 24 hour cooling off period, during which they let you cancel or change your flights if you’ve made a mistake.

Emirates doesn’t make it clear whether or not it offers this 24 hour cooling off period, so it’s recommended to contact the airline immediately if you need to correct an error.

You can however correct any misspellings with your name or request a name change up to 2 hours before the flight departure time. You shouldn’t have to pay a fee for this service.³

Will you get a refund for cancelling your Emirates flight?

Emirates does offer refunds for unused tickets when passengers cancel their bookings, but only if they’ve purchased a refundable ticket type.¹

So, you’ll need to check your booking confirmation details, or get in touch with the airline. You should also be able to see whether or not you’re due a refund when you login to Manage My Booking on the Emirates website and start cancelling your booking.

If you think you’re owed a refund, you can also apply for it here.

The exception to this policy is if you’re prevented from travelling due to serious illness or the death of an immediate family member (or one of your travelling party). If this does happen, you’ll be entitled to a full refund for unused tickets no matter what ticket type you have.⁴

If you’re eligible for a refund, it should be sent to the card you paid with.¹

What’s the Emirates flight cancellation policy?

So, what happens if Emirates cancels your flight, rather than you making the decision to cancel?

If the airline cancels your flight, you’ll be offered a choice of the following options under the Emirates flight cancellation policy:⁵

Rebooking onto the next available flight, free of charge
Transport to your final destination via an agreed means, with a refund for any difference in fares or taxes
A full refund for your cancelled flights and no onward travel provided.

You’ll be notified if your flight is cancelled, and be made aware of the available options.

Get ready for low-fee holiday spending with Wise

If you want a truly international account that works pretty much anywhere, check out the Wise multi-currency account. It's not a bank account but offers some similar features and your money is always safeguarded.

You can open a Wise multi-currency account online and start managing your money in 40+ currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD and many more.

You can also get the Wise card for a one-time fee of £7 to spend in 150+ countries from the moment you arrive. It automatically converts your pounds to the local currency whenever you spend, only adding a tiny, upfront currency conversion fee* – or it’s free if you already have the currency in your Wise account.

Here’s an overview of the main benefits for using Wise:
Fast and easy setup with no physical paperwork Dedicated support for large transfers Sophisticated security and anti-fraud measures Low, upfront, transparent fees* and the mid-market exchange rates Fully trackable transfers Fast transfer times Two-factor authentication and real-time notifications

Sources used:

Emirates - Cancelling or changing a booking
Emirates - Help and support
Emirates - FAQs - Can I change passenger name on an Emirates ticket?
Emirates - Conditions of Carriage
Emirates - Terms and Conditions

Sources last checked on date: 17-Jan-2025

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.