
Flights resuming in Qatar as airspace reopens amid Middle East conflict
Iran announced on state television that it had attacked forces stationed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in retaliation for America's strikes on its nuclear programme.
Qatar said it successfully intercepted the missiles and no casualties were reported.
Flights coming in and out of the state were grounded to 'ensure the safety of citizens, residents, and visitors', the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in the afternoon.
Qatar Airways confirms reinstatement of flights as airspace reopens in the State of Qatar.
Our focus at this time is to help our passengers return home or reach their onward journey safely and smoothly.
We've deployed extra ground staff at Hamad International Airport to support…
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) June 23, 2025
Qatar Airways confirmed flights were resuming on Monday night.
In a statement posted to social media, the airline said: 'Qatar Airways confirms reinstatement of flights as airspace reopens in the State of Qatar.
'Our focus at this time is to help our passengers return home or reach their onward journey safely and smoothly.
'We've deployed extra ground staff at Hamad International Airport to support you as we resume operations.'
It urged passengers to check the airline's website or app before travelling.
Airlines were forced to review routes across the region when the airspace was shut, with some services rerouted or diverted mid-air.
The move came just hours after the Foreign Office advised British nationals in Qatar to 'shelter in place' following a US security alert.
But in updated guidance, the Government department said: 'The US has now lifted the advice to shelter in place, issued to its citizens on 23 June.
'Following interceptions of Iranian missiles fired towards Qatar, the FCDO has been in touch with the local authorities and international partners, and reviewed the security situation.
'British nationals do not need to shelter in place and should continue to follow advice from the local authorities.'
The UK Foreign Office is advising against all travel to Iran and urges British nationals in the region to follow local guidance.
Qatar is home to Al Udeid airbase, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, where around 8,000 American personnel are based, according to the US State Department.
The base also hosts British forces.
No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group, part of the Royal Air Force, has its headquarters at Al Udeid and leads UK air operations in the region.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Spanish island's bold message to Brits as notorious party town gets £4m overhaul
One of Spain's most infamous party regions is distancing itself from rowdy Brits through a series of brutal clampdowns, and a multi-million pound regeneration that has just completed its first phase A popular Spanish resort appears to be ditching its boozy reputation thanks to a major transformation. For years, Majorca's infamous town of Magaluf has become synonymous with rowdy, drunken Brits, cheap alcohol, and blaring nightclubs. The Magaluf Strip, officially known as Calle Punta Ballena, was the place for Stag and Hen Dos, as well as those wanting to get so drunk they'd forget all about the 'I HEART SPAIN' tattoo they had inked on their bum cheek the night before. However, as anti-tourist sentiment gains momentum across Spain and the Balearics - it seems Magaluf's party-mad status is about to change. The town has already cracked down on binge-drinking and anti-social behaviour through a series of brutal rules. This includes all-inclusive resorts capping alcoholic beverages to just six a day, while bar crawls and public drinking are both prohibited. The clamp-down has slowly altered Magaluf's questionable image, paving the way for a fresh start. This has recently been epitomised by a huge promenade refurbishment that was inaugurated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony last weekend (Sunday, June 22). The promenade, which is now called Paseo Marítimo having been renamed after the founder of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer Julià, has undergone a 'complete rearrangement and beautification' with all of its infrastructure and services being 'renewed'. This includes new lighting, sewage systems, street furniture, and an irrigation network. As previously reported, 650 metres of the promenade has been revamped in the initial phase, starting at the corner of the famous Nikki Beach and extending to Pirates Square. The work also includes the introduction of artificial sand dunes and palm trees grouped to form a 'small oasis area'. According to Daily Majorca Bulletin, the refurb has been funded thanks to a €4 million grant from the EU Next Generation funds as well as €1 million of tourist tax revenue (equating to around £4.28 million). It is believed the second phase, which is also being partly funded by tourist taxes, will commence later this year - as early as November. Mayor Juan Antonio Amengual, who attended the inaugural event, is said to have highlighted the 'importance' of the work that has been completed, arguing it is a further landmark in the 'transformation of Magaluf' which aims to bring about a 'change in image'. While the impact of British tourists wasn't explicitly mentioned, it's clear the town is trying to distance itself from its party-mad past. To mark the work being complete, the town hall is believed to have organised a 'special day of events'. This includes a Gastro Fair, beach sport games, and a folk dance, reports local media. Brits keen to check out Magaluf's new and improved image can fly directly from a slew of major UK airports, including London, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast. If you're flexible with dates, you can grab return fares for as little as £28 in July. Accommodation in Magaluf is equally affordable, home to a slew of no-thrills apartments, hostels, and cheap hotels. For example, a week's stay (July 21-28) at the three-star HSM Don Juan will set you back £1,161. This is based on two people sharing. However, if you want a more luxurious week away in the sun, check out Sol Barbados. This beachfront hotel boasts its very own waterpark and outdoor pool, as well as kids' entertainment, modern rooms, and a 24-hour front desk. Staying here on the exact same dates costs £2,402. *Prices based on Skyscanner and listings at the time of writing.


NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Democrats struggle to come up with a unified response to Trump's Iran strikes
They condemned. They sidestepped. They offered support. What Democrats didn't do in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally greenlight military strikes on Iran was push a consistent, coherent message. In Congress, Democrats were all over the map on where they stood on Trump's action. At the gubernatorial level, where many potential 2028 Democratic contenders now sit — including those clamoring to be viewed as the front-line "resistance" — Democrats posted carefully curated messages that avoided getting into politics or even policy. With some exceptions, governors' comments were focused on the public safety of their states should Iran retaliate on American soil. That's even as Trump took Americans on a bruising roller coaster ride over the last several days, often contradicting his top aides as his posts on social media ricocheted from authorizing strikes to suggesting a regime change in Iran to antagonizing the nation to proclaiming peace. Over the weekend, the Democratic National Committee declared that former President Joe Biden hadn't started any wars. On Monday, in the thick of threats from Iran over retaliation, the DNC announced it would hold a media call Tuesday morning — about the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned abortion rights protections in Roe v. Wade. The wide-ranging, disjointed responses from Democrats underscored the fluidity and volatility of a Middle East conflict that has raged since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. It also demonstrated how the leaderless minority party is struggling to collectively act as an antidote to a president many of them have repeatedly condemned as a threat to democracy. Congress On Capitol Hill, some Democrats have blasted the strikes as unwise and unconstitutional, like Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who are leading efforts to block him from further strikes. Others have hedged on the merits, demanding more information and saying Trump needs approval from Congress first, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. And yet other pro-Israel Democrats say they support Trump's move, like Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland — although Hoyer also blamed Trump for getting the United States into this situation by reneging on the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. Kaine told NBC News he's "nervous" that the United States could make a mistake similar to the one it made with the Iraq War. "In Iraq, we were misled into the war with intelligence about the Iraqi WMD [weapons of mass destruction] program that proved not to be accurate. And I'm very, very concerned about that here," Kaine said Monday. "This isn't 'Should the tax rate be 22% or 23.5 %?' This is a real vote of conscience. Should the United States be in another war in the Middle East?" he added. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who arrived in Congress in 1997 and voted against authorizing military force in Iraq in 2002, said he also saw parallels between the escalating Iran situation and how the George W. Bush administration made the case for the Iraq War. "I remember how they cherry-picked information and fed it to members of Congress, but at least we had a debate," said McGovern, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, who is calling for a formal debate and vote on military action against Iran. "It's easy to get into wars; it's hard as hell to get out." Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said she hopes Democrats can, at minimum, rally around the Kaine resolution to require approval from Congress before Trump can strike Iran. "People can argue all they want about what the election of 2024 meant," Warren said. "But the one thing I'm very sure about is that no one was voting to attack another nation and involve America's military in another war." But that unity isn't there. Jeffries declined to say Monday whether he supports the Khanna resolution to require Congress to sign off on military action in Iran, telling reporters, 'I haven't taken a look at it.' And Fetterman, who urged Trump last week to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, pushed back against fellow Democrats who have labeled U.S. military involvement 'unconstitutional' or who called for Trump to be impeached. 'If you throw that word around — 'impeachment' — then you continue to cheapen what that word actually means,' Fetterman told reporters Monday. 'I was the first guy in the Senate calling it to strike the nuclear facilities. Of course, I absolutely support that,' he continued. 'Now, I know that might cost me politically, but I fundamentally know that's right.' Trump administration officials will hold separate classified briefings on the situation in the Middle East on Tuesday afternoon for House and Senate members. Governors As sirens blared across Doha warning of incoming attacks on Qatar on Monday, the typically combative California Gov. Gavin Newsom fired off a message on social media condemning the Trump administration. It had nothing to do with Iran. 'Donald Trump's America: The father of 3 U.S. Marines is brutally beaten by federal agents,' Newsom said on X, speaking of an immigration arrest in his state that was caught on a viral video. Absent from Newsom's typically active and animated feed were any verbal shots at Trump's strikes on Iran, even though he is among the governors viewed as potential 2028 contenders who has repeatedly taken on Trump. But after one of the most consequential moves Trump has taken since he became commander in chief in January, he and other governors kept quiet about the United States' potentially entering a war. Aides to various governors said they tried to stay in their lanes — speaking specifically about how they were protecting their states from any potential retribution through violence or cyberattacks or by honoring National Guard members based in the Middle East. They stressed they weren't privy to intelligence that would have helped assess Trump's decision to order strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities; they couldn't even independently assess after the fact how much damage was actually done. Among those who spoke more substantively about the issue was Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who steered the focus to Trump if there were retaliation to the United States' strikes. 'Obviously, the Trump Administration holds responsibility for what comes next and ensuring that our American troops and our personnel in the region are safe,' Shapiro said Sunday on X. He made sure to condemn an Iranian possession of nuclear materials. 'I will say, with regard to the Iranian nuclear program, it was obviously very, very dangerous," Shapiro said. "The idea that Iran, the world's largest sponsor of terror, would have a nuclear weapon, would not only destabilize the Middle East, but it would create risk for American interests at home and abroad. And so it is good if Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon.' Newsom did post a message later Monday honoring the 205 California Guard members serving in the Middle East, including at bases in Qatar and Iraq. 'Jen and I are praying for their safety — and for the safety of every American service member serving in harm's way,' he wrote, referring to his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined what she had done to assess potential threats in a video on social media. 'As we know, New York is always a target,' she said, noting that she convened her public safety team as soon as she heard of Trump's strike authorization. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who has repeatedly railed against Trump on other occasions, had a measured response Saturday, writing on X that after an "escalation in Iran, I'm keeping a close eye in consultation with federal authorities and @ILStatePolice." Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wrote at the time of the retaliatory attacks Monday, without specifying what he was referring to: 'I know things seem scary right now, but it's important to take care of yourself. Hug your kids, focus on the things you are grateful for, and take a break from the news when you need it. Keep the faith and remember, we'll get through this together.'


The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Trump says ‘total' ceasefire to start within hours agreed between Iran and Israel – and reveals how peace deal will work
UK flight to Doha forced to turn back after Iran's missile strike A flight bound for Doha was diverted back to the UK after Iran launched a missile strike against a US airbase in Qatar. Qatar Airways flight QR28 had reached as far as the western Turkish coastline at around 5.56pm UK time when it dramatically made a U-turn, taking it back to Manchester Airport. Earlier today, Iran launched a salvo of ballistic missiles at Doha, targeting the Al Udaid US airbase which houses around 10,000 US army personal. Qatar Airways then announced at 7.30pm that it had temporarily grounded all flights after the Middle Eastern nation closed its airspace. The airline wrote on X: "As a result of the closure of air traffic movement in the State of Qatar, we can confirm the temporary suspension of Qatar Airways flights. "We are working closely with government stakeholders and the relevant authorities to support any passengers that have been impacted, and will resume operations when the airspace reopens. "The safety of our passengers and crew remains our highest priority." QR28 is not the only Qatar Airways flight from the UK to be affected, with another flight - QR4 from London Heathrow to Doha - also being diverted back to the capital. The jet made it far over the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Greece, before it turned around heading back to London, according to aircraft tracker FlightRadar24.