Qatar Airways CEO says passengers diverted due to Iran strike were on new flights within 24 hours
Qatar Airways' chief executive Badr Al Meer said on Wednesday that about 20,000 passengers whose flights were diverted amid an Iranian missile strike on the US Al Udeid Airbase on Monday were put on new flights within 24 hours.
"This week brought an operational crisis few airlines will ever encounter, and one that challenged the very core of what it means to run a global airline,' Mr Al Meer said in a statement.
Tehran launched a missile strike on the US base in retaliation for strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites at the weekend, increasing tension in the region amid the Israel-Iran conflict.
Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria all closed their airspaces, while airports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai delayed operations.
Mr Al Meer said more than 90 Qatar Airways flights to Doha were 'forced to divert immediately'. Twenty-five flights went to Saudi Arabia, 18 went to Turkey, 15 to India, 13 to Oman and five to the UAE. Other aircraft were rerouted to locations across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Mr Al Meer said about 151 Qatar Airways flights were immediately disrupted and that the airline had to adapt in real time – 'without precedent and without pause'.
More than 10,000 passengers were also in transit at Hamad International Airport.
'They found themselves caught in the middle of one of the most severe and complex operational challenges in modern aviation history,' Mr Al Meer said.
He said more than 11,000 passengers resumed their travel on Tuesday morning, with the others departing later that evening and on Wednesday morning.
'As of today, there are no passengers from diverted flights left stranded,' Mr Al Meer said.
Other airlines also suspended, delayed, cancelled or rerouted flights in the region due to the Iranian missile strike, with Etihad Airways cancelling services to and from Tel Aviv until July 15.
Emirates on Tuesday said its passengers had faced minimal disruptions, with regularly scheduled flights resuming within a few hours.
'Services to Amman and Beirut were briefly suspended but resumed quickly, demonstrating Emirates' ability to nimbly adapt its operations while prioritising safety, and helping thousands of families start their summer holidays,' the airline said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Dubai-based airline flydubai said it would resume operations to Damascus starting on Thursday. It said it plans to resume its full schedule from July 1.
'We continue to monitor the situation closely and adjust our flight schedule accordingly,' flydubai chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith said in a statement.
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