Qantas flights sent back as conflict erupts in the Middle East - causing travel chaos
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Qantas has rerouted two long-haul international flights after Iran fired missiles at a US military base in Qatar.
Flight QF33, which had departed Perth for Paris with 216 customers on board, was forced to turn back mid-journey and return to Western Australia last night.
Meanwhile, a QF9 flight from Perth to London with 199 passengers on board was diverted to Singapore while flying over Sri Lanka.
'The airline is working closely with government stakeholders and the relevant authorities to support impacted passengers, and will resume operations when the airspace reopens,' a Qantas spokeswoman said.
'Once usual operations resume, we anticipate significant delays to our flight schedule.
'We have also deployed additional ground staff at Hamad International Airport and other key airports to assist affected passengers.'
The news prompted Foreign Minister Penny Wong to warn travellers that closed airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East could affect flights globally.
'Australians travelling should seek updates from their airlines and follow @Smartraveller,' she said.
'We do not want to see further escalation. A full-scale war in the Middle East would be devastating for the people of the region and the world.'
Impacted passengers on QF33 and QF9 were accommodated overnight in Perth and Singapore respectively.
The disruptions will have follow-on effects for Qantas flights QF10 (London to Perth) and QF34 (Paris to Perth).
Qantas' QF1 and QF2 Sydney-Singapore-London return services are operating as scheduled at this stage.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways announced 'temporary suspension' of its services due to the shutdown of air traffic in the Middle Eastern country.
'The airline is working closely with government stakeholders and the relevant authorities to support impacted passengers, and will resume operations when the airspace reopens,' a statement read.
'Once usual operations resume, we anticipate significant delays to our flight schedule.
'The safety of our passengers and crew remains our highest priority.'
The decision has already affected two Virgin Australia services mid-flight to Doha.
The airline has a 'wet lease' with Qatar Airways.
'Two services operated by Qatar Airways for Virgin Australia have been diverted on the way to Doha following the temporary closure of Qatar airspace,' a Virgin Australia spokesperson said.
'VA1 (Sydney–Doha) diverted to Bengaluru and VA15 (Brisbane–Doha) diverted to Muscat. Both aircraft landed safely.
'Guest recovery is being coordinated by Qatar Airways, including support on the ground and assistance with onward travel arrangements.'
The disruption comes just days after Virgin Australia reintroduced international long-haul flights with the launch of Sydney-Doha and Brisbane-Doha services in partnership with Qatar Airways.
An urgent travel warning was issued yesterday for Australians travelling to or transiting through Qatar - which is a major international hub used for connecting flights worldwide.
The Australian Government's Smartraveller service, managed by DFAT, issued an overnight alert advising travellers to Qatar, including those transiting through Doha, to exercise a high degree of caution.
'We've raised our level of advice for Qatar. We now advise 'exercise a high degree of caution' due to ongoing hostilities in the region,' the alert read.
'Conflicts in the Middle East could lead to an increase in tensions elsewhere in the region and may result in airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruptions.
'Demonstrations and protest activity may also occur, and local security situations could deteriorate with little notice. Avoid all demonstrations and protests.'
Experts have urged travellers to take note of the advice from authorities.
Finder insurance expert Tim Bennett warned that travel insurance premiums will soar for trips via the Middle East.
He urged impacted travellers to read their policy documents.
'Travel insurance companies base their premiums on the risk of your trip, and a higher Smartraveller alert level is a good indicator of an increase in risk,' Mr Bennett told news.com.au.
'Some insurers may introduce exclusions for claims you can make if you take out cover after the alert level has changed, but you’ll generally still be covered for most things.'
A country can close its airspace at any time and take effect immediately.
'That might be the entire airspace of the country or it might just be a certain part of the airspace where they want to do something like fire missiles into the sky or conduct some operation where they don’t want civilian aircraft flying through the airspace,' Australian aviation expert Keith Tonkin said.
'We now have several different airspace volumes not available to fly through at the moment because of the war in Ukraine, what’s happening in the Middle East, and Pakistan-India - a lot of aeroplanes are getting condensed into less airspace.'
Aussies heading to Europe via the Middle East should expect delays but shouldn't panic or cancel unnecessarily.
'You will be contacted by your agent or airline if there is a cancellation to rebook you or do a refund,' Australian Travel Industry Association chief executive Dean Long told 3AW.
'The worst thing travellers can do today is call up their agent or airline to say, 'I want to cancel.'
'If the airline cancels, you're guaranteed a full refund.'
