Qatar Airways to operate repatriation flights on Saturday

Qatar Airways is to operate a handful of repatriation flights on Saturday from Doha, following authorisation from the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority of a temporary “safe operating corridor”.

The flights will depart from Hamad International Airport to London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulles, Madrid, Rome and Frankfurt.

Priority on these flights was given to stranded passengers with families, elderly passengers, and those with urgent medical and compassionate travel needs. Each flight was pre-allocated by Qatar Airways directly to such affected passengers.

The airline stressed that these flights do not constitute a confirmation of resumption of scheduled commercial operations, which remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

Qatar Airways confirmed it would resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe full reopening of Qatari airspace and said a further update will be provided on 8 March by 09:00 Doha time.

The airline urged passengers not to travel to the airport for these rescue flights unless they had been contacted by Qatar Airways.

A spokesperson said: “We are working around the clock to organise additional relief flights where operationally possible and will share further updates as soon as they are confirmed.

“The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority during this period of disruption. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by the current situation, which is beyond our control, and thank our passengers for their patience and understanding.

“As a continuing measure, please be reminded that if you have a confirmed booking with a travel date between 28 February and 15 March 2026, you are eligible for complimentary date changes of up to 14 days from the original travel date, or a refund of the unused value of your ticket.”