Travel plans in chaos after Iranian missile strikes spark flight diversions

Australian travellers have been caught up in the global aviation chaos caused by Iranian missile strikes, as airspace closures over the world’s busiest airports triggered cascading disruptions, diversions and missed connections.

Footage circulated on social media showing the terminal floors in airports such as Doha becoming makeshift campsites, with stranded travellers sleeping anywhere they could, as overwhelmed airport and airline staff struggled to rebook the thousands of passengers who had been displaced.

Flights diverted around the Gulf as Iran fired missiles at a US base in Qatar early on Tuesday morning (AEST).Credit: Flight Radar 24

Despite airspace reopening roughly four hours after the attacks on US military bases, which forced authorities in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to halt all air traffic over their skies, many passengers remained unclear as to their onward journeys.

Several Qantas flights, including ultra-long haul flights from Perth to European cities whose routes are carefully planned, were also forced to turn back to Perth or divert to Singapore, throwing the plans of hundreds of passengers into disarray.

However, Australians who had tickets transiting through Qatar and the UAE were among the most affected, even hours after airspace reopened.

Madeline Wilcox was on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha, where she was set to transit through on her way to Rome, as part of a more than month long European holiday.

About an hour and a half before landing in Doha, Wilcox was alarmed when she woke to an announcement that Iranian missile fire had closed Qatari airspace and that her plane was being diverted.

Initially, passengers were told they would land in Mumbai, but amid the chaos of air traffic controllers having to accommodate dozens of midair flights, Wilcox’s aircraft ultimately landed in the Indian city of Goa.

Passengers remained on board as the plane sat on the tarmac waiting several hours for Qatari airspace to reopen.

The flight landed in Doha shortly after 4am local time – roughly 20 hours after it departed Melbourne. By that time, Wilcox had missed her onward flight to Rome, and became stuck at Doha airport.

Scenes from Hamad International Airport after an airspace closure threw flights into chaos.Credit: Damian McKee

“We’re currently navigating next steps,” Wilcox said. “We’re queueing up now…but Doha airport is really busy.”

Wilcox was one of thousands of international travellers who became stranded at Doha airport, with chaotic scenes also reported at Dubai airport – the world’s busiest – due to similar airspace closures.

Melbourne-bound Damian McKee said his flight was 30 minutes from landing in Doha before it was diverted to Riyadh Saudi Arabia, where “we sat on the plane for six hours.”

The flight later arrived in Doha, Qatar at 2am local time “and the airport is not coping with massive lines at transfer counters”, McKee said.

“People have been very patient but many are saying airport staff have no idea either as people have been sent from one end of the airport to the other,” he said.

“Having said this, I’m thankful that the airspace was blocked as the airstrike is only a short distance from the airport.”

Earlier, Qantas’ Perth-Paris flight turned back to Perth, while the airline’s Perth-London diverted to Singapore, a spokesperson confirmed. One flight was over Indian airspace, and the other was nearby when the changes were made.

“Our focus at this time is to help our passengers return home or reach their onward journey safely and smoothly,” the Qantas spokesperson said.

Qatar said it has also deployed additional ground staff at Hamad International Airport and “other key airports” to assist passengers.

Emirates, which operates 77 weekly flights between Australia and Dubai, said a number of flights “were rerouted en route to Dubai on 23 June, but there were no diversions”.

Other passengers have recounted various detours and delayed journeys, including those on a Qantas flight from Perth to Paris. QF33 was seven and a half hours into its normally 17-hour journey, when, off the western coast of India, it turned around and flew back to Perth. It meant for passengers such as Rex Bouvier, he endured a five hour flight from Sydney to Perth, then another 15 hours in the air, only to land back in Perth, with at least another 17 hours of flying ahead of Bouvier and his friends.

While Qantas put stranded passengers up in accommodation in Perth and rebooked them for the next flights, those such as Bouvier who had missed an onward flight in Europe booked with a separate airline, the itineraries were now unclear.

Iran targeted the Al Udeid Air Base, which sits 33 kilometres west of the main Doha airport, at about 7.45pm on Monday Doha time (2.45am Tuesday AEST). Qatar suspended flights over its airspace before the strike.

Flights in and out of Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest hub, were temporarily suspended and the United Arab Emirates closed its airspace as a precautionary measure, according to a person familiar with the matter. However, Dubai Airports later said it had resumed operations after a brief flight suspension, the Dubai Media Office posted on X.

with Bloomberg

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