Australian tourists caught up in flight chaos after Iran fires missiles at Qatar

News.com.au

10 hours ago

Australians in Doha — a popular aviation hub for connecting flights to Europe — have been caught up in chaos after Iran fired missiles at the United States' Al Udeid air base in Qatar amid the Iran-Israel conflict.
Some of the world's biggest airlines were forced to cancel or reduce flights in and out of Qatar's airspace.
Darren Flindell, who was flying from Sydney to Dublin, Ireland via Doha, was at the Tropicana 360 rooftop bar in the city when he watched the missiles hit just after 7.30pm local time.
'You could see the lights coming in from the distance,' he said on the Today Show. (Watch in the video player above).
'At first it felt like sort of dull fireworks there, with a bit of rumblings going off and then it became very apparent that these were missiles are coming in.'
Mr Flindell described the moment as 'very unsettling'. He had whipped out his phone to capture footage.
'I thought, well if this is it, I'm going out, I better record the moment so people know I'm here and this is what's happened and it went on for about 10 to 15 minutes,' he said.
Mr Flindell said while he knew the target was likely the Al Udeid air base, he said it seemed as though the missiles were 'coming from all directions'.
'It was coming in front, then it was coming from the side, and then the interceptors were coming from over the back of the building and it was getting really crazy,' he said.
Australian make up artist Maddie Wilcox who was on her way to Europe for a holiday was just a couple hours away from landing in Doha when her Qatar Airways flight needed to be diverted.
They landed in Goa, India and waited on the tarmac until cleared to continue the flight to Doha.
In a series of TikTok videos, Ms Wilcox described the experience of needing to divert midair due to the missiles as 'scary' and was now hoping for a safe landing in Doha.
Another Australian woman travelling home from Europe was at Doha's Hamad International Airport when flights were grounded.
She said passengers on the Qatar Airways flight bound for Melbourne had been stuck at the airport since about 6pm local time and it was now the early hours of the next morning.
She told news.com.au flights had been cancelled to Melbourne and Sydney, and they were waiting in a queue to find out if accommodation would be provided.
'Chaos (is) now erupting, people are arguing. Passengers are overtired and frustrated (because of) the language barrier, staffing issues and general frustration,' she said.
'There's one (airline) person trying to deal with all these people.'
Qatar Airways announced on Tuesday morning Australian time the reinstatement of flights following the reopening of airspace but wanred there would be significant delays.
'Our focus at this time is to help our passengers return home or reach their onward journey safely and smoothly,' the statement read.
'We are working tirelessly with government stakeholders and the relevant authorities to restore operations as quickly as possible.
'We have also deployed additional ground staff at Hamad International Airport and other key airports to assist affected passengers by minimising disruptions and offering the utmost care and support to all customers.
'As operations resume, we anticipate significant delays to our flight schedule. We would advise passengers to check qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile application ahead of travel.'
It said the safety of its passengers and crew is the 'first and highest priority at all times'.
Australians warned
In the last few days Australians travelling to Europe this peak summer season via the Middle East had been warned of airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruptions amid the Iran-Israel conflict.
Travel insurance is also expected to become more expensive for Aussies with connecting flights in the region.
It is terrible timing for Virgin Australia and its customers as the airline only just returned to international long-haul flying with the launch of its Sydney-Doha and Brisbane-Doha flights in partnership with Qatar Airways on June 12 and June 19. Perth-Doha services are scheduled to take off June 26, and Melbourne-Doha will join in December.
Smartraveller, which is run by the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), raised the advice level for Qatar to 'exercise a high degree of caution' last week.
Dubai, UAE, and Doha, Qatar, are both aviation hubs for connecting flights into Europe, but Smartraveller now warns: 'the security situation in the Middle East is unpredictable and could deteriorate further with little warning'.
Travel insurance costs may increase
Tim Bennett, an insurance expert at Finder, told news.com.au on Monday (before the missiles hit Qatar) that travel insurance providers 'pay very close attention' to Smartraveller's advice levels, and this will directly impact what is covered in tourists' policies and the premiums they are likely to pay.
'Travel insurance is probably going to be more expensive now if your trip runs through Qatar, or frankly anywhere in the Middle East,' Mr Bennett said.
'Travel insurance companies base their premiums on the risk of your trip, and a higher Smartraveller alert level is a good indicator of an increase in risk.'
However, he said while it may be more costly, fortunately most insurance companies would still offer cover at this advice level.
'Some insurers may introduce exclusions for claims you can make if you take out cover after the alert level has changed, but you'll generally still be covered for most things,' Mr Bennett said. 'Times like these are when you actually need to read your policy documents.'
He added that your plane being diverted to another destination shouldn't affect your ability to make a claim, even if you end up in a country with a high travel warning, as the cover is based on a planned itinerary. Although, Mr Bennett suggested getting cover as soon as possible.
'Disruptive': Congestion in the air
Australian aviation expert Keith Tonkin told news.com.au that a country can decide to close its airspace at any time, and it can take effect immediately — meaning aircraft may need to divert midair.
'That might be the entire airspace of the country or it might just be a certain part of the airspace where they want to do something like fire missiles into the sky or conduct some operation where they don't want civilian aircraft flying through the airspace,' he explained.
Even if the airspace is not closed, Mr Tonkin said there are hazards that may need to be avoided, such as other aircraft flying through the space to deliver weapons.
Airspace closures themselves can be 'very disruptive' and have 'significant implications'.
Even if flights are not landing in a country with a closed airspace, the aircraft may need to change its flight path to avoid the area, and this could result in flights needing to divert to get more fuel to make it to their final destination.
'One of the interesting things is that we now have several different airspace volumes not available to fly through at the moment because of the war in Ukraine, what's happening in the Middle East, and Pakistan-India, there's a situation there where Pakistan closes airspace for a little while because they're fighting — a lot of aeroplanes are getting condensed into less airspace,' Mr Tonkin said.
'There are fewer flight routes available for them to fly through, so there's a bit of congestion, more aeroplanes being processed by air traffic controllers that they would not have been doing in the past. The system is being pressured where those aeroplanes are now being diverted through different airspace.'
He said this leads to flight delays and increased costs with aircraft having to fly further and burn more fuel.
'Travellers shouldn't panic or cancel unnecessarily'
Australian Travel Industry Association Dean Long said Australians flying to Europe via the Middle East should be prepared for some delays, but urged travellers to not cancel their flights.
'Travellers shouldn't panic or cancel unnecessarily,' Mr Long said on Monday.
'The one thing we learned through Covid is don't cancel as it reduces the number of rights you have. Let the airline make that decision. This approach ensures your rights are protected and you get the support you need.'
Mr Long asked travellers not to contact their travel agent or airline unless they are travelling in the next three days so that the needs of those travelling immediately could be accommodated as a priority.