Etihad ‘E’dventure 2026
- Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
- The Coral First Class Lounge, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
- EY405 Bangkok to Abu Dhabi – First (Boeing 787-9)
- Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers
Etihad First Class Lounge, Zayed International AirportEY404 Abu Dhabi to Bangkok – First (A321LR)- Going through multiple hotels and flights in the chaos and eventually making it to safety
Figured I’d document my experience of being stuck in UAE which I hope I’d never experience ever again. Some timestamps in the pictures in this post are not so accurate as I took different screenshots at different times but I will try my best to make the post sound logical.
The plan started out so well; Take Etihad First Class to muck around in Abu Dhabi for 2 nights and explore the city (my 3rd Middle East City KPI), then head back on First back to Bangkok before connecting to my Singapore Airlines Business flight home. Everything was planned, sorted, arranged.
Interestingly enough, the dates for this trip were determined by my upcoming trip as it is ticketed under one booking reference. I’d have never imagine my choice of dates to be so significant.
28 FEBRUARY 2026 (MORNING)
I had a great breakfast at Rosewater, then hopped onto my half day tour of the city, starting at 10:30am. I checked out the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and thought it was a magnificent architecture.
Midway through, my guide started to be very obsessed on his phone and was jittery about people peering into the skies during the bright day time. Now do I realize that those small circular clouds I saw was what was left after a drone interception.
Then, the transit visitors who went on the same tour said that their flight status on the Etihad app shows suspended. I was dropped off first back at the hotel first, so I don’t really know what happened to them but I hope they had help.
During this time, I started receiving emails from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to my e-register with them.
28 FEBRUARY 2026 (AFTERNOON)
Back at the hotel, I was still thinking ah no big deal, Abu Dhabi is not involved in the conflict. I saw down at The Hub with coffee and snacks. I even made my way to the nearest mall, Marina Mall, as I figured why not. But barely 30mins there, I could have been hallucinating but I am sure I heard distant booms – and I zoomed back to the hotel soon after.
The hotel strangely was business as usual so that kind of helped to keep me relatively calm. I indulged in the Diamond Happy Hour at The Hub but had started to be distracted while constantly checking Etihad’s announcements. At that time, the announcement mentioned flights before 1400 on 01 March are affected.
My EY404 was scheduled to depart on 02 March at 0220 so I thought okay la, safe! The plan was to depart for the Airport at 8:30pm on 01 March via the Etihad Chauffeur, check out Zayed International Airport, and stay in the First Lounge until I board.
And the status of EY404 which was still on time – I was able to see my seat, check in, and get my e-boarding pass.
It was at this time I decided to book a cancellable rate at Marriott Al Forsan which is nearer to the Airport for checking in on 02 Mar, the day I was due to depart in case I got stuck at the Airport.
28 FEBRUARY 2026 (NIGHT)
Went to sleep early, feeling a little jittery / nervous, and hopeful all at the same time. Packed my bags a little while watching the news on the TV, thinking about my chances of leaving as scheduled.
01 MARCH 2026 (MIDNIGHT)
Jarringly woken up from my somewhat sleep by a loud alarm-y sound emitting from my phone – jolted awake, picked up my phone, and saw this. Completely unexpected and frightened by the message, I called the front desk and they said oh everyone got it on their mobile device as well and its okay, just stay in the room but if I prefer to be around other people, I may proceed to the front desk. I decided to stay put, packed and got dressed to go, and fell back asleep on the bed with my essentials strapped to me in case I need to evacuate.
01 MARCH 2026 (MORNING)
Wasn’t sure what to expect in the morning but at Rosewater, everything was very normal. So checked and double checked my flight and it seems to be still on time as scheduled. And sometime that after (please ignore the timestamp below), I received the below message indicating to resume normal activities. Over the next 2 days, there’d be repeats of this same cycle, each time no less alarming than the last.
01 MARCH 2026 (AFTERNOON)
I had a spa treatment booked after breakfast to use up my USD100 credit but I was in no state to enjoy the treatment so decided to skip it and went to ask the Conrad AUH’s front desk for a late checkout (since the Chauffeur was only picking me up at 8:30pm) but was told that if I wanted to stay at the hotel until then, I’d have to pay another night’s full rate.
I was not impressed with the inflexibility given the situation as well as status into consideration, so I made the decision to check with Marriott Al Forsan if they are able to shift my reservation 1 day forward to check in that same day – they kindly agreed. I mean, if I have to pay for another night’s stay, I might as well accrue my Bonvoy nights, right?
Before I checked out the Conrad AUH staff reminded that I have alot of un-used credits from my stay and I ended up ordering almost USD90 worth of food from the Lobby Deli before I left. That was ALOT of food.
Successfully got an Uber, but to my horror, the bellhop staff told me no cars are now allowed to come into the driveway as ‘something happened last night’ – I was horrified at the thought of not being able to get out and the kind staff helped to call the Uber driver to wait for me alongside a public road THEN he helped me to carry my barang out until he has to stop.
Super relieved to finally get to Marriott Al Forsan Abu Dhabi, asked for the lowest floor possible (in case I have to evacuate with my bags), and got into my room to catch up on the news. First time feeling happy at getting a low floor.
Also took this time to change my Etihad Chauffeur pick up from Conrad to my current location and it was all good,
01 MARCH 2026 (NIGHT)
Dragged myself to the evening cocktail sessions at the Executive Lounge as wasn’t sure about the Airport situation, still prepped for my 8:30pm pick up as EY404 was still showing on time. Was in no mood to drink so just has some fillers.
With no notice of flight nor chauffeur cancellation, I was at the lobby at 8:30pm sharp hoping to see an Etihad car pull up.
NO CAR.
At 8:50pm, I got the much-dreaded email of cancellation. WHYYYYYYYYYYYY.
Went right up to the hotel room and started calling Etihad customer service again.
At this same time, I had to live chat with SQ help desk to cancel my BKK-SIN sector on redemption Business as I was sure I would not make it anymore. Sadness but they agreed to keep my SIN-AKL sector and charged my 13,500 miles for the re-issue.
02 MARCH 2026 (MORNING)
Whilst on the phone with the agent about rebooking, around midnight, I suddenly received a pop up on my phone about a re-proposed schedule!
I opened it up, and saw…… that the same cancelled flight has been re-proposed as the ‘new flight’!
I was confused but at that point in time, I thought oh good, they decided to open the airspace after all! I accepted the change, even got my new e-ticket, packed everything, and frantically grabbed an Uber to the airport.
To his credit, the Uber driver mentioned that the airport was closed and he was terribly confused why I wanted to go there. I insisted that Etihad put me on a flight that was departing in 2hours. The poor chap was like, well okay he can go there if I want and if the airport is indeed closed like he said, I can change the destination once we are there and he can send me back to the hotel.
Which was what I ended up doing, after being told off by the police at the airport roadblock. Not fun.
I went back to the hotel room, I decided to book the earliest refundable available commercial option I could find instead of waiting to be rebooked. So I was once again booked and ticketed, albeit on 05 March as there were no earlier availability.
Then I decided to look at other alternative commercial flights which were immediately bookable and cancellation, or for a small fee. Figured I’ll try everything I can!
Ended up booking 2 more alternatives on Air China and Emirates out of DXB (I was willing to take the extra road trip if necessary) – all on different date and times so it was from then a waiting game to see which one gets cancelled first.
After a tiring night and restless morning, I woke up to see rebooking options on my Etihad flight for the next morning! So I took it.
In that same afternoon, with the uncertainty of when I will be able to leave Abu Dhabi, I approached the front desk at Marriott Al Forsan to ask about the extension of my stay if need be.
For context, by then, the UAE government has already announced that hotel and meal costs will be covered for stranded tourists – and a copy of the directive was available which I showed to the front desk too.
The sole staff at the front desk was however COMPLETELY NOT HELPFUL – he told me in a condescending tone that he also saw the letter, and first asked if I’m under a corporate booking (I said no). He then supposedly checked the system and said there is no note under my booking which indicates the cost of extension will be covered. He told me flippantly that the directive is not a blanket one and said the government approves GUEST by GUEST instead. He then said they will call “them” to check. I asked who is the ‘them’ – he said the government. I then asked if he was the one making the call – to which he suddenly said he is not authorized and that I should ‘come back later’ to check with the ‘Manager’. I asked for the Manager’s name – he said he doesn’t know as it’s a different person every day. I asked what time shold I come back – he simply said “12pm”.
Writing about this whole interaction makes me angry again!
Anyways, I did go back later in the day to check and this time, a different staff said she is aware but not really sure about the process – she asked for documentation of my flight cancellation and said she needs to check something backend.
While waiting, I made up my mind to change to another hotel since help from Marriott Al Forsan has been so far…lacking. I found that Ritz Carlton Grand Canal had availability and called them from Marriott’s front desk to ask if they are aware of the whole government-covering-cost thingy.
The staff said yes and soon after, with proof of my flight cancellation, I was booked for a stay there with all meals covered. I packed everything AGAIN, and off I went to check into my favorite RC.
This RC was super nice!
I checked in at the front desk, settled into my room, THEN received an email informing me that the no-cost arrangement is only covered for existing guests who are stranded and NOT new guests, and I have to pay my own if I choose to continue with my stay. I dragged my sorry self to the front desk once more and the staff very kindly helped to resolve it.
Settled into my room, watched more news, did laundry, stalked my booked flights….
02 MARCH 2026 (NIGHT)
And even managed to get myself to the buffet dinner at Giornotte – the property’s all day dining restaurant. A very lavish Iftar spread and I did have some really nice proteins plus a bite of the freshly made kunafe to reward myself for making it through to that point.
Back in the room to attempt to wind down thereafter, the in-room phone suddenly rang late at night with a front desk staff informing me that there is an Etihad representative at the lobby and to head this way if I’d like to speak to him. OF COURSE!
Scurried down to the lobby to see a queue forming in front of one lonely counter and so I patiently waited my turn – and when it came, I basically heard ‘we have a repatriation flight tomorrow to Bangkok at 1500 – do you want to be on it?
YES.
I was told asked to go back and wait – I will get a confirmation email from Etihad if I am successfully placed on the flight, and if so, please be ready at the hotel lobby at 0900 to take the chartered bus to the airport.
Thereafter, I received cancellation notice for my backup Etihad flight the next morning. Oh wells.
03 MARCH 2026 (MORNING)
I eventually fell asleep waiting for the email on the repatriation flight…and woke up at 3:30am to check my email again. Still nothing.
At 4:40am (I still remember the time!), I saw this:
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY (I was booked only in Business but I’ll take it!).
So excited I started packing my stuff thinking about
It was this same morning that I received cancellation of my Air China flight. Another one down.
I was finally in a good mood to grab breakfast at Giornotte and decided to reward myself with some eggs.
At 0830, I was already at the lobby expecting a crowd. But no crowd. And also no bus.
Waited, until I saw others trickling in. And together we waited….
About 1000, a bus finally pulled up.
But there was some confusion at the start, including us being unsure if the bus is the one being sent by the airline as no airline rep was present. It was eventually sorted out, and everyone got on the bus like obedient students on a school bus.
After what felt a really long ride, the sight of the Zayed International Airport was …indescribable.
From there, stepping onto the Airport grounds, then into the Terminal itself, and getting through to check in, into the temporary Business Lounge, and finally sipping ice cold champagne. PHEW.
03 MARCH 2026 (AFTERNOON)
Successfully boarded the plane on time – YAY. Even as this was an older Business Class, I’d take it!
After settling into my seat, the captain came on air and announced………that the airspace has just closed and all passengers to disemabark. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS.
At this same time, passengers were looking at each other in disbelief and while starting to re-collect our belongings, the captain announced again to NOT disembark this time, but sit back in our seats to wait for clearance to take off.
We eventually took off about 30mins behind and this was when I actually felt real, actual relief.
At this point, I finally was in the proper mood to enjoy my in-flight meal – not too shabby!
I also kept checking the flight path until the point we cleared the Gulf airspace. WOOHOO!
While in the air, I booked Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport for my overnighter in Bangkok with 19,000 points, and then upon landing in Bangkok, my SQ economy flight back home the next day for $260 SGD.
04 MARCH 2026 (MORNING)
The next morning, I received cancellation notice for my Emirates flight – luckily I didn’t wait until then!
I hopped back to the airport in good time and with it was so nice to be able to head to the SilverKris Lounge for a taste of home before I actually fly home. Very Asian food await.
When I boarded the SQ flight home, I thought my adventure was over.
BUT after taxi-ing on the runway, the captain suddenly announced that the plane has some technical issues which require us returning to the gate. NOOOOOOOOOOO.
Thankfully, we only had to wait about 1 hour but meanwhile received this worrying email which turned out to be a false alarm.
In any case, once in the air, I caught a movie and still feeling full from the SilverKris Lounge., I opted for a cup of Baileys – I think I deserve it!
I must admit I was super happy to hear the “To All Singaporeans, Welcome Home” announcement which I always thought to be cringey. Not this time!
Touched down at Changi Airport, 2 days later than originally planned, and off I went to find my feel of home:
In Summary,
What an adventure this has been. Never again thank you very much.
[In case anyone is wondering, yes I had e-registered with MFA prior to my trip and yes I was in touch with the MFA but it was the airline which got me back safely. Enuf said]
