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.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Greatest Royal Rumble match listing
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sweet%20Tooth
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The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
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THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
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