UK Businessman Takes Emirates To Court Over Lost Luggage

Dubai-based Emirates Airline was forced into a court case in the UK after losing the baggage of a passenger in Dubai.

Abrar Khan, a businessman in the UK, claimed the airline lost his luggage when he was en-route to Dubai for an eight-day business trip.

In a statement, his lawyer said that the businessman had to cancel his trip immediately since he was offered “no emergency assistance, no refund for his subsequent missed flights, and no confirmation from Emirates that he would be compensated for the baggage loss.”

Khan said: “After a number of weeks, Emirates failed to locate the suitcase and declared it lost – but they also advised that they would not be able to compensate me because the contents were of an unreasonably high value. Considering I only had two suits and six shirts and associated accessories in the suitcase, I found this hard to believe.”

After an exchange of what he claims “more than 100 emails” over the next few weeks, Khan took the issue to the small claims court.

He says he received an offer from Emirates to settle to the maximum value before the trial was due to commence, however legal fees, amounting to around £3,000 ($4610) was not covered. Following negotiations in the court, the case was finally settled.

Khan’s Lawyer, Nisar Ahmed Khan said: “This is a clear case of a very large organisation ‘bullying’ a passenger that they left in a foreign country with nothing but the clothes on his back. They failed to address his pleas for assistance and blamed him for the loss.

“Although my client has been awarded the maximum amount for his claim, I feel legislation should be re-written to provide better protection for passengers in foreign countries.”

An Emirates spokesperson briefly said: “Emirates has handled Khan’s matter diligently and this case has been settled in a UK Court of law and is now closed.”

Khan called for better customer service when passengers are left stranded. “Lost luggage can be a nightmare. I was relatively lucky that my suitcase had items that were all replaceable – I know other people who have lost expensive gadgets, sentimental keepsakes and other important possessions that can not been replaced.

“Airlines must take responsibility for their passengers, supporting and compensating them when one of their processes fails.”

Dubai-based Emirates is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. It carried 44.5 million passengers in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014, with the number expected to reach 50 million passengers in the 2014-15 financial year.

With a fleet of more than 230 aircraft, it flies to over 140 destinations in 80 countries worldwide.