United Arab Emirates — GCAA Civil Aviation Regulations, CAR-PWP (Passenger Welfare Program)

The clocks it starts

• Two years for a Montreal Convention claim (Art. 35)This is the limitation period for the Convention claim for proven delay damages on international carriage, not for any national compensation scheme, which may have its own. It is fatal to the Convention claim specifically, and correspondence does not suspend it.Montreal Convention 1999, Art. 35(1) — Art. 35(1)Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

• The operator must ask for volunteers before offloading anyoneCAR-PWP requires the operator, where it expects to deny boarding, to call for volunteers to give up their reservations in exchange for benefits, and only to deny boarding involuntarily if too few come forward. If you were offloaded without that call being made, the operator did not follow the procedure. Ask whether volunteers were sought and what was offered them: the answer is often that the gate agent skipped the step.
• The carve-out for non-compliance, and its limitsThe Program does not apply where the passenger did not comply fully with the carrier's conditions on ticketing, reconfirmation, check-in and acceptability. That is a real limit and carriers reach for it. But it has to be the passenger's non-compliance, and it has to be material: arriving at check-in inside the published deadline and then queuing for an hour is not a failure to check in. Get the check-in timestamp from your boarding pass or the app.
• Check whether a stronger regime reaches your flight before you use this oneGulf carriers fly enormous long-haul networks, and the regime that pays is very often not the one where the airline is based. A flight departing an EU or UK airport engages Regulation 261/2004 or its UK equivalent against any carrier, including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad, and pays EUR or GBP 250 to 600. A flight departing Brazil engages ANAC Resolution 400. A flight into the United States engages the DOT rules on denied boarding and refunds. The local Gulf complaints route is worth using when nothing else reaches the flight, and it is the wrong first choice when something does. Work out which regimes touch your itinerary before you spend a month on the weakest one.
• Montreal Convention damages for delay (international carriage)On international carriage between States Parties, Art. 19 of the Montreal Convention makes the carrier liable for the damage the delay actually caused you — the unused hotel night, the missed onward booking, the extra meals and transport — unless it proves it took all measures that could reasonably be required. It is capped at 6,303 SDR per passenger (the figure ICAO set with effect from 28 December 2024) and it requires receipts, not a formula. This claim exists independently of any national scheme, and airlines never mention it. The right is extinguished two years after arrival under Art. 35.Art. 19, Art. 22(1)

Where to take it next

1. 01Written claim to the airlineComplain to the carrier in writing naming CAR-PWP, the flight and the disruption, and asking which provision of the Passenger Welfare Program it says applies and what it provides. The GCAA will ask whether you did this first.Claim direct·typically 30 days
2. 02GCAA Consumer Protection UnitThe General Civil Aviation Authority operates a consumer protection unit that takes complaints once the carrier has had its chance. It enforces CAR-PWP against operators.Regulator·typically 90 days·official page
3. 03Dubai Civil Aviation Authority — for Dubai airportsDubai operates its own aviation complaints channel for disruptions at Dubai International and Al Maktoum. Where the disruption happened at a Dubai airport this is often the more responsive route.Regulator·typically 90 days·official page
4. 04Civil court or the Consumer Protection DepartmentBinding on themThe Ministry of Economy's Consumer Protection Department and the emirate-level consumer protection departments take complaints about services supplied in the UAE. A civil claim is available but is proportionate only where the loss was substantial.Small claims·typically 180 days