Traveling with an international airline usually implies trusting that, at least, the basic aspects of the trip will be covered: the requested meal, a minimum level of passenger assistance and, of course, responsible management if something goes wrong.
In our case, the trip with Turkish Airlines started with problems even before take-off and ended up becoming a much more serious situation after the cancellations of our return flight from the United Arab Emirates.
The first problem: the vegan meal that never appeared
Before starting the trip, we tried to select a vegan meal through the airline’s website.
However, for several days neither the website nor the application allowed selecting this type of special meal, something that is problematic for passengers who follow a specific diet for ethical, religious or health reasons.
After several failed attempts, we were forced to call Turkish Airlines to understand what was happening.
The response we received was that, since there were less than 24 hours before the departure of the flight, it was no longer possible to request the vegan meal for the first leg, Porto–Istanbul. However, customer service assured us that the vegan meal option would be available on the second segment of the trip, Istanbul–Dubai, so in principle that problem would be resolved on the connecting flight.
We accepted that explanation, although the situation already seemed strange: the system did not allow selecting a special meal that should be available during the reservation.
The problem is that the vegan meal did not appear on the second flight either. In other words, there was no vegan meal on either of the two flights.
Fortunately, we had brought vegan food with us, which prevented the situation from becoming even more complicated. But in any case, it is unacceptable that an airline allows a flight reservation without guaranteeing a previously requested dietary option.
The cabin crew asked for our email address to supposedly raise an internal complaint and assured us that they would contact us later.
To this day, no one has contacted us.
A return flight scheduled for March 1
Our return itinerary from the United Arab Emirates was scheduled for March 1, 2026; however, after the deterioration of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, the problems began.
Our flight was cancelled by Turkish Airlines, which initiated a chain of rebookings and new cancellations.
Three consecutive cancellations
After the first flight cancellation, the airline’s system offered as an alternative a new flight on March 3. That flight was also cancelled.
Later another option appeared for March 6, which was also eventually cancelled.
Finally, the only alternative available in the system was March 10, which meant a total delay of nine days compared to the original flight.
No passenger assistance
During the entire period of the travel disruption, we received no effective assistance from the airline.
Specifically, Turkish Airlines did not provide accommodation, meals, transportation, much less a reasonable alternative flight to return to Europe earlier.
We tried to contact the airline through the call center, official website, mobile application, and social media.
The responses received were mainly automated messages redirecting us again to the website or the application, without offering a concrete solution.
The only solution: buying new flights
Faced with three consecutive flight cancellations and the possibility of being stuck in Abu Dhabi until March 10, we decided to look for a solution ourselves.
On March 6 we bought new tickets with Etihad Airways for the route Abu Dhabi → Madrid.
The price was €2,394.83 per passenger, which meant €4,789.66 in total.
Later we had to complete the journey to Portugal with flights operated by Air Europa, in addition to assuming hotel and transportation expenses.
More than €6,600 in additional expenses
The formal claim presented to Turkish Airlines includes the following breakdown of expenses:
- Partial refund of the cancelled ticket: €820
- Essential purchases during the disruption: €335.94
- Accommodation in Abu Dhabi: €516.02
- Alternative flights Abu Dhabi – Madrid: €4,789.66
- Taxi in Madrid: €22
- Hotel in Madrid: €89
- Flights Madrid – Porto: €201.14
The total amount claimed is €6,632.76.
The claim submitted
After finally returning to Portugal and barely settling in at home, during the first weekend after the trip — March 6 — we submitted a formal claim to Turkish Airlines requesting reimbursement of all the expenses derived from the cancellation.
The claim is based on Regulation (EC) 261/2004 on air passenger rights, and on the Montreal Convention of 1999 on international air transport.
Next steps
Given the lack of response, the next step will be to escalate the claim to the competent authorities, including civil aviation authorities and European consumer protection bodies.
Traveling implies accepting certain risks, especially in complex geopolitical contexts. But even in those circumstances airlines still have clear obligations towards their passengers.
At the end of March, the airline informed us that it had completely rejected the claim we had filed, refusing even to refund the cost of the return flight, even though it had been cancelled three times.
Faced with this situation, we decided to initiate a chargeback process with our bank, with the goal of recovering at least the 820 euros corresponding to the unused return tickets. Fortunately, this process was successful, and we were able to recover that amount.
As for the rest of the claim, we chose to escalate the case to the aviation authorities in Portugal and consumer protection agencies. At the same time, we began raising awareness of the situation on social media through daily posts, in order to apply pressure and make it clear that we would not accept the airline’s refusal, demanding that it fulfill its legal obligations.