Qatar Airways has said its operations have now stabilised and that no stranded passengers have been left behind following the airspace closure on Monday evening, which led to the diversion of 90 of its aircraft, according to Qatar Airways Group CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.
Fifteen of its aircraft were diverted to airports in India.
While the 90 diverted aircraft were carrying 20,000 passengers, another 10,000 flyers were in transit at Doha’s Hamad International Airport when an Iranian missile struck Qatar. By the time Qatar’s airspace opened, and aircraft began returning, the number of transit passengers at Doha rose to 22,000.
Passengers complained of long queues while waiting for transfers. “The economy passengers are also humans. At least have more desks at airport to cater for thousands of transit passengers,” one passenger said in a X post.
Responding to passenger criticism, Al-Meer wrote an open letter to customers. He said business continuity plans were activated, and the airline’s teams coordinated resource planning, catering, ground transport, and hotel accommodation, among other things. Over 4,600 customers were provided hotel accommodation using approximately 3,200 rooms in Doha.
“ A severe geopolitical escalation had forced the shutdown of our global hub but our focus was to stay agile, adapt and continue to deliver to our passengers. By Tuesday Qatar Airways operated a total of 390 flights as we worked to rebuild our network and restore schedule integrity. All passengers from diverted flights - approximately 20,000 in total were cleared within 24 hours,” Al-Meer wrote.
By the end of Tuesday, more than 58,000 passengers had departed Doha, and on Wednesday, the operation stabilised even further.
“This scale and speed of recovery reflects the depth of experience, planning and commitment we’re proud to uphold at Qatar Airways,” he said.