Iran strikes back at the US by firing missiles at its air base in Qatar. Herald NOW checks in with a Kiwi journalist live from Doha.
Qatar Airways Group’s chief executive has released an open letter, explaining what happened behind the scenes when the airline was forced to divert and cancel flights due to Iranian missile strikes on US military bases, with more than 20,000 passengers directly affected.
Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer called the event an“operational crisis” and one that “challenged the very core of what it means to run a global airline”.
On Monday, June 23 (local time), Qatari airspace was closed in anticipation of a missile attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar by Iran. Qatar Airways was forced to suspend its global operations immediately.
Airspace was also closed in Bahrain, the UAE and Kuwait.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer has released an open letter detailing the scale of the airline's operations when Iranian missile strikes closed Qatari airspace on Monday. Photos / Getty Images, supplied
Al-Meer says at the time, there were “100 aircraft en route to Doha, several already on approach to our runways, and others lining up for departure”.
One of those was QR921 from Auckland, which was due to land in Doha at 9.35pm local time.
Al-Meer says Doha’s Hamad International Airport, which is one of the world’s busiest airports and offers connections to more than 190 global hubs, “was brought to a standstill”.
Doha's Hamad International Airport. Photo / Getty Images
More than 90 Qatar Airways flights carrying more than 20,000 passengers were forced to divert immediately, Al-Meer’s letter says, and any departures from Doha were suspended until 12.01am at the earliest.
“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,” Al-Meer says.
The airspace closure affected passengers in transit as well, with more than 10,000 people already in Hamad International Airport, awaiting their connecting flights.
More than 151 flights were immediately disrupted and Al-Meer says, “every part of the operation had to adapt in real time – without precedent, and without pause”.
Kiwi Peter Hahn was one of the passengers affected. The Lower Hutt man was on board the Auckland to Doha Qatar Airways flight, on his way to Germany to support his Football Fern daughter Maya, who had just signed with a new club.
The flight 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 told the Herald’s Bonnie Jansen.
“Ever since then, I’ve been running around like a headless chicken.”
Maya and Peter Hahn. Photo / Supplied
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.”
Al-Meer’s letter details the wide range of destinations flights had to be diverted to: 25 into airports across Saudi Arabia, 18 into Turkey, 15 into India, 13 into Oman and five into the United Arab Emirates.
He says the remaining aircraft were rerouted to major hubs in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Getting aircraft back in the air wasn’t the only logistical problem Qatar Airways faced – it also had crew who had gone over their legal operating hours due to the delays and disruptions, and most of the airline’s fleet was either grounded or positioned in the wrong places.
More than 4600 delayed passengers had to be given hotel accommodation, meals and care packs were distributed, and Qatar Airways’ contact centre staff numbers were bolstered to deal with the sudden high influx of calls from affected passengers.
Al-Meer says the airline’s priority was to “care for our passengers impacted by the unprecedented situation” and to restore operations “as safely and swiftly as possible”.
When airspace reopened shortly after midnight on Tuesday, June 24 local time, planes were able to start returning to the Doha hub.
“A severe geopolitical escalation had forced the shutdown of our global hub,” Al-Meer writes, “but our focus was to stay agile, adapt, and continue to deliver for our passengers.”
He says 20,000 passengers from diverted flights were cleared within 24 hours.
More than 58,000 passengers had departed Doha by the end of that day, which Al-Meer credits to “a co-ordinated effort from across the Qatar Airways Group to fulfil our responsibility during this unprecedented disruption”.
Al-Meer ended his letter with a thank you to the affected passengers, saying the airline was “deeply grateful for your patience and trust”.
“To those who waited patiently in long queues, to those who faced uncertainty, and to those who showed understanding in the face of a worrying and rapidly-evolving crisis — I thank you."
