Maya and Peter Hahn. Photo / Supplied
A father’s journey to support his daughter - a New Zealand Football Fern - as she signs with a new club in Germany has stretched into an exhausting 72-hour ordeal, disrupted by conflict in the Middle East.
Peter Hahn, dad to Maya, left his home in Lower Hutt at 6am on Sunday (NZT) but has yet to arrive in Europe, after being stranded in Doha International Airport, where passenger lines stretch over a kilometre long.
Hahn was aboard a Qatar Airways flight when it was diverted due to the closure of regional airspace.
The disruption followed Iran’s announcement that it had attacked the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The flight, originally scheduled to land in Doha at 9:35 pm. Monday (local time), was rerouted to Muscat, Oman.
“When they closed the airspace, the flight was diverted to Muscat, where we were sat on the tarmac for I think six hours,” Hahn
“Ever since then, I’ve been running around like a headless chicken”
When speaking to the Herald on Tuesday night NZT from Doha International Airport, Hahn said that around him, multiple queues were stretching further than a kilometre.
He anticipated he would stand in his line for more than five hours before receiving any answers about a new flight to Berlin. He said if he had an urge to use the bathroom, he would hold it or hope a stranger in line could hold his place.
“I talked to my travel agent, and he said he booked me on a flight, and I should go up to the gate, which I did. But then the staff at the gate said I‘m not booked.
“It’s impossible to change anything online. My travel agent couldn’t book me a new flight, and I can’t do anything with my app.
“It’s just ridiculous. There’s been no communication whatsoever.
“Everyone is running around, you don’t know what to do.”
On Wednesday morning NZT he updated the Herald: ”After just under 10 hours of queuing I finally got my boarding pass for the flight to Berlin - 24 hours after the initial flight.”
Hahn said his new flight is scheduled for 1:30am local time.
When sitting on the tarmac in Oman, Hahn said passengers remained calm and there was no sense of panic, despite little communication from flight staff.
“They just said the airspace was closed; that’s all they said during the flight.
“There was internet on the flight, so I could go online and check what was happening. But I don’t think many people realised what happened; some might have.”
Hahn said passengers were ecstatic when they received the green light to proceed on the route back to Doha.
“People were clapping - they were obviously happy that things were moving on again after six hours.”
The ordeal has left Hahn reeling about his decision to travel at this time to see his daughter.
“I’m a bit annoyed with myself that I didn’t anticipate this happening because it’s kind of predictable with the biggest air force station in Qatar, right next to Tehran and Iran, so it’s not that surprising.
“I should have stayed at home, I think”
Maya, 24, who made her Football Ferns debut in February, told the Herald she received a text from her dad when he was mid-flight alerting her to the fact his flight would be diverted.
“I’m generally not much of a worrier, [but] it made me realise how serious and real the situation is right now.
“Often you hear about it on the news and think it won’t affect me, or it seems really distant, but it made me realise [the Middle East conflict] is a lot closer to home and how quickly things can escalate.
“I trust that he’s safe and the airlines are making calculated decisions. But I’m hoping he can get out of that area as soon as possible.”
The Wellington-born midfielder, who also qualifies to represent Germany, signed for Viktoria Berlin for their first campaign in the second-tier Frauen-Bundesliga. She was previously at FFC Turbine Potsdam in the top German league, playing since 2022.
She turned down offers at the Wellington Phoenix and a club in Zurich, Switzerland.
Maya told the Herald the club’s full female ownership was an attractive aspect as they strive to drive women’s football into new spaces.
“Having female representation in the ownership of a women’s team is essential.
“Having that understanding of what it’s like being a female athlete or a female in the workplace is super important - especially in sports and football where there’s a big discrepancy among the way men and women are treated,” Maya said.
She has embraced the senior women’s environment after she scored a worldie in just her second cap.
“The goal is for me to establish myself in the team and make as big of an impact as I can...Gaining that international experience with the goal of the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and hopefully being a part of that.”
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She was named New Zealand’s Best Up and Coming journalist in 2025. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.