Dubai Hotels Under Protection: How the UAE Assists Stranded Tourists

March 2, 2026 — What happens when vacation plans go awry due to a closed airspace? A responsible party responds, and in this case, it's Dubai.

High-Level Order

Nikolay Mladenov, High Representative of the Peace Council in Gaza, announced on Facebook an unexpected directive from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). It's categorical: no hotel guest should be evicted, regardless of the circumstances.

Imagine the situation: the day has arrived to check out of the hotel room, but due to canceled flights and a blocked sky, returning home is impossible. What happens then?

Solution for the Stranded

According to the new rules, hotels are obliged to allow guests to extend their stay under the same conditions agreed upon during the initial reservation. But what about those who do not have the means to cover the additional expenses?

The answer is simple: the hotel notifies the DET, and the state intervenes. This is part of a larger scheme developed by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the UAE.

State Support

The UAE covers all expenses — accommodation, food, drinks — and even helps with rebooking flights for all affected passengers, whether tourists or transit passengers. This is essential assistance at a critical moment.

Over 20,000 people have already benefited from this support, accommodated in full-service hotels. In Abu Dhabi, DCT directly covers the bills for the extra nights. In Dubai, DET acts as an intermediary.

Where to Seek Assistance?

If you know someone who is stranded in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, the advice is clear: contact directly the hotel where they are staying or the airline with which they traveled. Official channels are key. In such moments, rumors can only harm.

What would you do if you were stranded abroad? Would you trust the rumors or would you seek official information?