Qatar Air CEO explains chaos over Iran’s Al-Udeid US base strike

Qatar Airways’ chief has revealed the full chaos unleashed by Monday’s airspace closure in a rare ‘open letter’ to plead understanding from fuming travellers.

The head of Qatar Airways has issued a rare “open letter” to passengers in the wake of Monday’s unprecedented airspace closure in response to Iranian missile attack on Al Udeid air base.

As horror stories emerge from passengers about 13 hour-long waits in queues at service desks, fights over food and limited communication, Badr Mohammed al-Meer has sought to explain the challenges that faced the airline, recently named the world’s best.

He said at the time of the airspace closure, 100 aircraft were en route to Doha, and several already approaching the runway.

They included 90 Qatar Airways flights, carrying more than 20,000 passengers, which were forced to divert immediately.

Two Virgin Australia services operated by Qatar were among them, diverting to Bengaluru in India and Muscat in Oman.

Other flights were sent to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or re-routed to London, Barcelona and other ports across Europe.

Mr al-Meer said the airspace closure forced the airline to suspend global operations for just over six hours, creating massive challenges.

“Our routine, seamlessly synchronised global operation was, in an instant, scattered into dozens and dozens of disrupted flight scenarios across continents each with their own complexities and requirements,” he wrote.

“Inside Hamad International Airport, over 10,000 passengers were already in transit, expecting to depart when the escalation occurred. They found themselves caught in the middle of one of the most severe and complex operational challenges in modern aviation history.”

Adding to the difficulty was the fact some of Qatar’s flight crew “had timed out of legal operating hours” and some aircraft including A380s were grounded at airports with curfews.

“Over 151 flights were immediately disrupted. Every part of the operation had to adapt in real time, without precedent, and without pause,” Mr al-Meer said.

Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed al-Meer is pleading for passenger understanding. Picture: Karim Jaafar/AFP

The problems were not alleviated when airspace was reopened, with the number of passengers in transit at Hamad International surging to 22,000.

Mr al-Meer said over 4600 customers were provided hotel accommodation using approximately 3200 rooms across Doha, and within the airport, 35,000 meals were distributed, along with water, comfort kits and “reassurance”.

“All passengers from diverted flights were cleared within 24 hours. More than 11,000 resumed their journeys during the morning wave on June 24, with the remainder departing through the evening,” he said.

“By the end of Tuesday, more than 58,000 passengers had departed Doha, moved not by chance but by a co-ordinated effort from across the Qatar Airways Group.”

He expressed his thanks to those how patiently waited in long queues and faced uncertainty for showing “understanding in a rapidly evolving crisis”.

An Australian passenger who was on flight VA15 from Brisbane to Doha, said the service was diverted to Muscat where they spent 7 hours on the tarmac with no communication from the captain or crew.

When they finally made it to Doha they faced several more hours waiting until they could disembark.

She said inside Hamad International Airport it was chaotic, with massive queues at service desks staffed by just four people.

“I honestly can’t understand how it was so poorly managed, especially now we know they had advance warning of this ‘attack’ and knew they were closing the airspace,” said the passenger who did not want to be named.

“I felt so sorry for overwhelmed staff doing their best with limited resources.”

When she was finally able to board a flight back to Brisbane, having abandoned her European travel plans, the passenger said the plane was half empty.

“Staff said they were told it was overbooked and expected a very busy flight. All those people in queues and the plane is empty,” she said.

“The couple across from me queued at the Qatar service desk for 13 hours to get on the flight. Water was given out once and that couple said they got a sandwich right at the end and people were so hungry they were like vultures, and fighting with each other.

“I usually love flying with Qatar but unsure if I would ever again after this.”

Originally published as Qatar Air CEO explains chaos over Iran’s Al-Udeid US base strike