Middle East Airspace Diversions/Cancellations

[Rembrandt]

Does anyone else have a bad feeling that this is going to drag on longer than anticipated, possibly into April at the very least? I get the sense that the US entered this operation with a lot of confidence but under-prepared.

One thing seems certain: this operation has already made people rethink travel through the volatile Middle East, and it could permanently reshape parts of the global aviation industry as airlines and travelers reconsider the risks of routing through hubs in unstable regions. The ME3 need to be very careful how they treat their customer base...

 

[antycbr]

Does anyone else have a bad feeling that this is going to drag on longer than anticipated, possibly into April at the very least? I get the sense that the US entered this operation with a lot of confidence but under-prepared.

One thing seems certain: this operation has already made people rethink travel through the volatile Middle East, and it could permanently reshape parts of the global aviation industry as airlines and travelers reconsider the risks of routing through hubs in unstable regions. The ME3 need to be very careful how they treat their customer base...

As does Virgin Australia as the only AU airline “directly” operating service to the region. VA have left a lot of passengers with no recovery options other than refunds, and lost their codeshare connectivity to Europe thanks to their forced dumping of SQ codeshares.

 

[Rembrandt]

As does Virgin Australia as the only AU airline “directly” operating service to the region. VA have left a lot of passengers with no recovery options other than refunds, and lost their codeshare connectivity to Europe thanks to their forced dumping of SQ codeshares.

I fully agree. At this point I’m almost expecting VA/QR to cancel my April flights to Europe.

I imagine it’s more difficult for VA to move reward passengers onto other airlines since they’re not part of an alliance, although QR does at least have that flexibility.

 

[I love to travel]

TK already cancelling some flights out of Doha for the end of May. Not a good sign

 

[MEL_Traveller]

One thing seems certain: this operation has already made people rethink travel through the volatile Middle East, and it could permanently reshape parts of the global aviation industry as airlines and travelers reconsider the risks of routing through hubs in unstable regions. The ME3 need to be very careful how they treat their customer base...

I dunno… but the current situation was being talked about for weeks before the actual outbreak. So it’s not like there wasn’t warning.

In the absence of such warnings in future… business as usual?

 

[transpactraveller]

SYD QF SCL IB MAD and SYD QF SCL BA LHR both have perfect connections at SCL currently. It's actually quite a useful involuntary reroute option at the moment.

Can you get that on the one ticket or would it be separate bookings and hope you don't miss it?

 

[offshore171]

UAE for example has a very serious gag order out for anyone filming anything to do with the missile and drones. Lots of people have been arrested and forced to delete their footages - which is why we don't see very much about the missiles and drones in UAE.

For good reason though. This type of footage helps the IRGC with their targeting.

It's essentially free, zero risk battle damage assessment. In the old days, you had to risk your own assets to perform BDA after you attack something to observe accuracy, effectiveness etc.

Nowadays some influencer serves it up on a platter for you, via Instagram.

 

[PineappleSkip]

TK already cancelling some flights out of Doha for the end of May. Not a good sign

Some flights. I wonder if that reflects declining demand for travel to the gulf states?

 

[madrooster]

Can you get that on the one ticket or would it be separate bookings and hope you don't miss it?

You can ticket this as separate tickets one booking for through-check. In fact, you need to, as you wouldn't be able to collect and recheck baggage in time at SCL otherwise.

 

[exLXCXFF]

SMH just reporting.

The flight from Melbourne is just short on final at DXB, but seems to climb again and just did a U turn (may become circles). I can only imagine how you feel on this flight when you see the flight starting circling and you know the real reason is presumably " Dear passengers, we are advised that it is not safe to land at the moment due to income missiles/drones etc..."

 

[jase05]

Received this from QR, would be nice for some sort of extension

​

To our Privilege Club members

Dear Jason,

I hope you are safe and well. I want to write to you personally about the past two weeks, and to address directly what it has meant for your travel with us.

On 28 February 2026, following the outbreak of conflict in our region, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority took the decision to close Qatari airspace, and we suspended our scheduled operation immediately. That decision was guided at every stage by one principle: the safety of our passengers and our people. I know it has caused real disruption to your plans and commitments, and I am sorry for that.

As a Privilege Club member, you fly with us more than most. This airline is part of how you live and work and stay connected to the people who matter to you. You have chosen Qatar Airways, repeatedly, placing your trust in our ability to connect you to the world. In a period when we have not been able to fly you where you need to go, our commitment to you has not wavered. If anything, it has sharpened our resolve to return to serving you at the standard you expect and deserve.

In recognition of your loyalty, we are implementing tier status extensions for all members whose status was due to be renewed and may have been affected during this period, allowing them to continue enjoying the benefits they love. We will be contacting members who are eligible for this extension by email with more details in the coming days.

Our schedule is growing each day in line with authority approvals, and we are working toward a wider operation in the period ahead. Qatar Airways has a proven record of navigating serious crises and emerging stronger. We are drawing on that now.

I know that many of you have faced disruption to your bookings. Every open booking, refund request, or unresolved complaint is a priority for this team. We are committed to resolving each case, and our dedicated Privilege Club team is working around the clock to ensure every case is resolved.

Your loyalty through a period as difficult as this one means a great deal, and I am personally thankful for your patience and understanding.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon.

Yours sincerely,
Hamad Al-Khater
Group Chief Executive Officer
Qatar Airways






​

 

[Askance]

As a Privilege Club member, you fly with us more than most

Havent seen anything from them yet but my date isnt until August

 

[exLXCXFF]

Interesting flight.

 

[RooFlyer]

A few QR birds out 'n about - including 3 ex MEL and one SYD (which is interesting, as their web site says none scheduled from Sydney)

 

[VPS]

Received this from QR, would be nice for some sort of extension

​

To our Privilege Club members

Dear Jason,

I hope you are safe and well. I want to write to you personally about the past two weeks, and to address directly what it has meant for your travel with us.

On 28 February 2026, following the outbreak of conflict in our region, the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority took the decision to close Qatari airspace, and we suspended our scheduled operation immediately. That decision was guided at every stage by one principle: the safety of our passengers and our people. I know it has caused real disruption to your plans and commitments, and I am sorry for that.

As a Privilege Club member, you fly with us more than most. This airline is part of how you live and work and stay connected to the people who matter to you. You have chosen Qatar Airways, repeatedly, placing your trust in our ability to connect you to the world. In a period when we have not been able to fly you where you need to go, our commitment to you has not wavered. If anything, it has sharpened our resolve to return to serving you at the standard you expect and deserve.

In recognition of your loyalty, we are implementing tier status extensions for all members whose status was due to be renewed and may have been affected during this period, allowing them to continue enjoying the benefits they love. We will be contacting members who are eligible for this extension by email with more details in the coming days.

Our schedule is growing each day in line with authority approvals, and we are working toward a wider operation in the period ahead. Qatar Airways has a proven record of navigating serious crises and emerging stronger. We are drawing on that now.

I know that many of you have faced disruption to your bookings. Every open booking, refund request, or unresolved complaint is a priority for this team. We are committed to resolving each case, and our dedicated Privilege Club team is working around the clock to ensure every case is resolved.

Your loyalty through a period as difficult as this one means a great deal, and I am personally thankful for your patience and understanding.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon.

Yours sincerely,
Hamad Al-Khater
Group Chief Executive Officer
Qatar Airways






​

I also received it and I'm silver to the end of March but no hope of getting anything else at the moment. I flew Qatar last year in J and credited to Virgin because I thought I'd get to gold and just missed it. C'est la vie

 

[Zinger]

I have a business class award booking CNS-BNE-DOH-CDG flying on a VA codeshare to DOH and continuing on a QR coded flight departing in the first week of May. My return journey is on SQ so not affected. Yet.

There has been no communication from VA possibly as it's still a bit far in the future to know what will happen.

I do need to be in France at that time so have been looking around at alternatives and may have found a fare flying China Southern which doesn't thrill me but it's a way of getting there.

Trying the VA chat to explore options and find out about cancellation was of no use as only the bot was in the office. However when I asked about the refund of points and taxes etc, they alerted me to this.

A nice little earner for Velocity for doing absolutely nothing and being of no help at all.

 

[transpactraveller]

To be fair they'd be prioritising the people flying in March with cancelled flights, no one really knows yet what's going to be happening in May.

 

[Zinger]

To be fair they'd be prioritising the people flying in March with cancelled flights, no one really knows yet what's going to be happening in May.

Which is why I'm looking at cancellation.

I don't want to leave this to a couple of days before the scheduled departure date with no other options.

 

[jbman]

I haven't seen anyone offered anything other than a refund or date change and no alternative flights on different carrier from VA purchased tickets.

My friend is due to fly end of March and is not in the refund window. There have one been emails from QR about the limited flights from DOH. Nothing from VA yet, backup flights are recommended as I can't see anything being offered by VA.

 

[Brissy1]

I have a business class award booking CNS-BNE-DOH-CDG flying on a VA codeshare to DOH and continuing on a QR coded flight departing in the first week of May. My return journey is on SQ so not affected. Yet.

There has been no communication from VA possibly as it's still a bit far in the future to know what will happen.

I do need to be in France at that time so have been looking around at alternatives and may have found a fare flying China Southern which doesn't thrill me but it's a way of getting there.

Trying the VA chat to explore options and find out about cancellation was of no use as only the bot was in the office. However when I asked about the refund of points and taxes etc, they alerted me to this.

A nice little earner for Velocity for doing absolutely nothing and being of no help at all. View attachment 500691

But you mention a refund of points; reward booking cancellation is quite reasonable, 7500 points I think.