MSC Cruises Organizes Charter Flights to Get Stranded Euribia Guests Home

When a cruise line starts chartering flights to get guests home, you know things have gone well beyond a normal delay. MSC Cruises has now moved into full repatriation mode for MSC Euribia guests after the ship remained in Dubai during the Middle East crisis.

By Friday, March 6, MSC said it had organized flights for more than 1,500 guests and that seven flights had already departed the region. That’s a major step up from the line’s earlier update, when it was still trying to secure flights and work through options with airline partners and authorities.

Why MSC Euribia Ended Up Stuck in Dubai

MSC said on March 4 that it was continuing to follow the guidance of regional military authorities for the ship to remain in the port of Dubai. In other words, this was not simply a commercial decision by the cruise line.

With the regional security situation deteriorating, MSC was keeping the ship in place rather than sending it back out into an area affected by military tension and wider disruption.

That same crisis was also creating problems in the air. MSC said it was working with airline partners in the region, especially Emirates and Etihad Airways, while also looking at charter options from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Muscat.

But available flights were limited, and MSC said airlines were prioritizing passengers based on their original flight dates. That meant even guests who were ready to leave could not always be moved home immediately.

That helps explain why the response turned into such a large-scale travel operation. It wasn’t just a case of guests getting off the ship and heading straight to the airport. The ship could not simply leave the area under the guidance MSC was following, and commercial air options were constrained at the same time, leaving some passengers temporarily stranded in Dubai while the line worked to secure seats, charter flights, and government-backed alternatives.

Recommended reading: Six Cruise Ships Remain Stranded in Port as Middle East Tensions Escalate

MSC Says It Moved Quickly

In its March 5 update, MSC said: “MSC Cruises has been working on the safest and quickest way to repatriate our guests and has taken decisive action to accelerate this by launching a dedicated flight operation.” At that stage, the plan included five charter flights, with close to 1,000 guests expected to leave the region by Saturday, March 7.

That already sounded like a big response. By the next day, it was clear the operation had grown even more.

More Than 1,500 Guests Have Now Been Allocated Flights

On March 6, MSC said more than 1,500 guests who had been onboard MSC Euribia in Dubai had now been allocated flights out of the region. The line said the departures included charter flights paid for by MSC, seats secured with Emirates and Fly Dubai on scheduled services, and some government-organized flights. MSC added: “As of this morning, a total of seven flights carrying MSC Cruises’ guests have departed the region.”

MSC also said guests had already been repatriated to the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Brazil. That gives you a sense of how wide this operation has become behind the scenes.

Some Guests Still on Board

Even with that progress, MSC made clear the job wasn’t finished yet. In the same March 6 update, Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said:

“We have received unparalleled support from our airline partner, Emirates as well as the regional and national governments who are supporting us to facilitate the necessary operational logistics and authorisation for the flights. We still have some guests on the ship, but we are working hard to secure their safe passage from the region.”

MSC also said the situation onboard remained calm, guests were being updated regularly, and they still had full access to services and facilities. Vago also tried to highlight the scale of the response behind the scenes, saying:

“I am immensely proud of how the whole company is coming together with this highly complex repatriation operation… Our Ship Command and crew have worked tirelessly to ensure our guests are well cared for and our teams across the globe have worked round the clock to get our guests home safely and in a timely manner.”

Remaining Dubai Sailings Were Also Canceled

This has also hit the rest of MSC Euribia’s winter season from Dubai. In its March 3 update, MSC said the remaining three cruises scheduled for March 14, March 21, and March 28 had been canceled, with affected guests being offered a full refund.

So this has clearly moved from a single disrupted sailing into a much bigger problem for the cruise line. For the guests still onboard, the main question now is how quickly MSC can complete the final part of the repatriation effort and get everyone home.

You Might Also Like…