Emirates has cancelled 16 trans-Atlantic flights between 24 and 26 January after forecasting models showed Hurricane Fern would bring blizzard conditions to New York, Washington and Dallas. The Dubai carrier operates daily Boeing 777 services between Prague and Dubai, and roughly 12 % of Czech passengers on those flights continue to U.S. gateways on the same ticket. Although the Prague-Dubai legs are unaffected, travellers holding onward segments to the U.S. will not be accepted at check-in, forcing last-minute itinerary changes.
According to the airline’s travel-updates page, affected passengers may rebook in the same fare class within seven days or request refunds in the form of an Electronic Miscellaneous Document valid for one year. Travel-management companies in Prague report difficulty finding alternative routings, as Air France–KLM and Lufthansa group carriers are already heavily booked ahead of the 30 January start of the university spring term.
In light of the scramble for replacement flights, many travellers are double-checking that their ESTA or transit permissions still align with hastily re-drawn itineraries. VisaHQ’s Prague team (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) can expedite electronic travel authorisations, secure last-minute transit visas and advise on documentation for alternative stopovers, helping passengers avoid paperwork surprises while airlines reshuffle schedules.
![Emirates weather-related US cancellations trigger rebooking crunch for Czech passengers]()
Corporate mobility managers are advising travellers to consider Gulf alternatives such as Qatar Airways via Doha or to reroute through London Heathrow, even if this lengthens journeys by several hours. Employers with assignees on ESTA business trips are reminded that landings at non-designated pre-clearance points may require additional screening time under enhanced CBP winter-weather protocols.
The episode underscores the domino effect of extreme weather on multi-segment itineraries originating in Prague. At the start of the month, a snowstorm in Istanbul stranded more than 300 Czech nationals when connecting flights on Turkish Airlines were grounded. Experts suggest that companies add “hub diversification” clauses to travel policy, allowing ticket-issue through at least two alliance partners per corridor to improve resilience.
Emirates says normal operations will resume “as soon as weather conditions allow” and urges passengers to keep contact details updated in “Manage Booking” to receive SMS notifications.
According to the airline’s travel-updates page, affected passengers may rebook in the same fare class within seven days or request refunds in the form of an Electronic Miscellaneous Document valid for one year. Travel-management companies in Prague report difficulty finding alternative routings, as Air France–KLM and Lufthansa group carriers are already heavily booked ahead of the 30 January start of the university spring term.
In light of the scramble for replacement flights, many travellers are double-checking that their ESTA or transit permissions still align with hastily re-drawn itineraries. VisaHQ’s Prague team (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) can expedite electronic travel authorisations, secure last-minute transit visas and advise on documentation for alternative stopovers, helping passengers avoid paperwork surprises while airlines reshuffle schedules.
Corporate mobility managers are advising travellers to consider Gulf alternatives such as Qatar Airways via Doha or to reroute through London Heathrow, even if this lengthens journeys by several hours. Employers with assignees on ESTA business trips are reminded that landings at non-designated pre-clearance points may require additional screening time under enhanced CBP winter-weather protocols.
The episode underscores the domino effect of extreme weather on multi-segment itineraries originating in Prague. At the start of the month, a snowstorm in Istanbul stranded more than 300 Czech nationals when connecting flights on Turkish Airlines were grounded. Experts suggest that companies add “hub diversification” clauses to travel policy, allowing ticket-issue through at least two alliance partners per corridor to improve resilience.
Emirates says normal operations will resume “as soon as weather conditions allow” and urges passengers to keep contact details updated in “Manage Booking” to receive SMS notifications.
