The giant Gulf carrier Qatar Airways has suspended all flights to and from its hub in Doha due to the “major combat operation” confirmed by Donald Trump against Iran.
Diversions began immediately on Saturday with flights from Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Dublin and Heathrow all returning to their starting points.
The move comes after Iran and Iraq closed their airspaces in response to the escalating action, which has seen explosions across the Middle East with blasts reported in Bahrain and the UAE, which house US military bases, as well as in Jordan and Qatar.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the airline said: “Qatar Airways Group confirms the temporary suspension of its flights to, and from, Doha due to the closure of Qatari airspace.
“The airline is working closely with government stakeholders and the relevant authorities to support impacted passengers and will resume operations when the airspace re-opens.
“Once usual operations resume, we anticipate delays to our flight schedule.
“We have also deployed additional ground staff at Hamad International Airport and other key airports to assist affected passengers.
“The safety of our passengers and employees is always our highest priority, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
In the Gulf region, Doha is second only to Dubai in terms of the number of flights and passengers handled.
Thousands of British passengers are affected by the airspace closure, including travellers who are returning home from locations in Asia, Australasia and Africa.
Inbound flights from Colombo and Dhaka have landed at Muscat in Oman. The inbound flight from Chicago is in Cairo, while the service from Boston landed in Athens.
Many Qatar Airways flights from Continental European airports have also returned to their starting points, including the departures from Berlin, Brussels, Zurich, Vienna, Warsaw, Barcelona, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Brussels, Paris, Milan and Madrid.
This is a developing news story, more follows
