Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended its flights to and from Doha due to the Qatari airspace closure on Saturday amid the war between the United States, Israel and Iran.
“The airline is working closely with government stakeholders and the relevant authorities to support impacted passengers and will resume operations when the airspace re-opens. Once usual operations resume, we anticipate delays to our flight schedule,” the airline said in a statement.
The Qatari airline added it deployed additional ground staff at the Hamad International Airport and other key airports to assist affected passengers.
“The safety of our passengers and employees is always our highest priority, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused,” it said.
Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority had announced the temporary suspension of air traffic in Qatari airspace as a precautionary measure in light of the latest developments.
Other countries in the region issued similar measures including Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.
This comes against the backdrop of the war that erupted in the morning after Israel, with the U.S.’ backing, attacked Tehran. This followed retaliatory attacks on American bases across the region including in Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE.
Qatari authorities confirmed intercepting a number of missiles without the occurrence of casualties. The population spotted smoke near the U.S. Al-Udeid Air Base while hearing explosions across the country.
The population also received alerts on their phones urging them to remain at their homes and avoid areas close to military bases.