“We were due to fly home today from Sri Lanka with Qatar Airways via Doha,” writes Jess.
“It was cancelled. We went to Colombo airport today to speak to a representative from Qatar and were told to email them about our situation, but that a rescheduled flight could be weeks away.”
Jess’s difficult position is shared with hundreds of thousands of other people who are caught on the wrong side of the Gulf airspace shutdown.
She continues: “We have the option of reimbursement, but other flights are expensive and currently sparse. We spoke to other airlines, such as Sri Lankan, which said the next available flight is the 28 March. Singapore Airlines couldn’t take us until 21 March.
“I’m aware that some other airlines, such as Etihad and Emirates, are operating, but these flights don’t appear accessible to us. What do you advise?
In the week since Iran started aiming drones and missiles at economic targets such as airports, Jess and many other travellers have discovered that air passengers’ rights rules do not offer any significant protection when flying on a non-UK/EU airline from outside Europe.
As I have previously and expensively discovered, Qatar Airways – and other airlines – can simply shrug and say: “Sorry, but it’s not our fault. We will get around to flying you when we can. Meanwhile, how about a refund?”
To be clear, airlines facing disruption on a vast scale want as many passengers as possible to cancel, as it removes them from the picture and annuls the contract. Also, if you ask for your money back, you will typically be given a few hundred pounds representing the unused portion of your return journey. It will not reimburse you for the actual cost of getting home.
Jess appears to me to have three options. She will need to choose the least bad option, depending on circumstances.
First, if she simply needs to get home as soon as possible due to work or family commitments, I am afraid she must throw time and money at the problem. This is how I got out of Kathmandu when Qatar Airways cancelled my flight and said there was nothing more for a week. I ended up flying three hours in the wrong direction to Bangkok at enormous expense, and then buying a British Airways flight back to Gatwick. Total bill: around £1,300.
The exit strategy was to search for flights to anywhere. But travellers beware: from Sri Lanka, many of the available seats are to India. With the rare exception of a connecting Air India flight, passengers will be required to have an Indian visa.
Take it from me: you really don’t want to embark on that particular bureaucratic journey. Going via China could be feasible as helpfully, UK passport holders no longer need a Visa for China.
At the other extreme, Jess could simply wait until Qatar Airways has a seat available. I think that could be a couple of weeks if there are no further serious military incursions.
Announcing plans to operate six passenger flights to its hub at Doha on Monday 9 March, including from London Heathrow, the airline stressed these flights are “only for passengers whose final destination is Doha” and said: “These flights do not constitute a confirmation of resumption of scheduled commercial operations.”
Nevertheless, the queue of people waiting to get home is likely to reduce as travellers find alternative routes.
Sri Lanka is a relatively cheap country, and if Jess is in no particular hurry or can work from a beachside hotel, this would be the lowest cost option for now.
My recommended solution, though, is to wait a few days and see. Etihad has just announced the restoration of part of the schedule from Asia via its hub in Abu Dhabi to Europe. Right now, for immediate departure, you can pay around £4,000 one way in economy via the UAE and Zurich to get back to London or Manchester. That is an absurd amount of money.
But other airlines will be opportunistically adding more departures. For example, Oman Air is stepping up its flights from Asia via Muscat to London Heathrow. For travellers who can bear a few more days of uncertainty, I believe the price will come down.
Talking of fares: once this lousy law is over, the Middle East carriers will face a big challenge trying to lure travellers back. Some passengers will be deterred by the proximity of the big hubs to the region’s flashpoints. But others will remember how they were treated during the aviation shutdown. Rival carriers must be secretly delighted.
Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he explores a key travel issue – and what it means for you.
