Concerned flyers may have heard about the ruptured diplomatic relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The good news is that in most cases your flight will not be affected.
What happened?
On Monday Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates severed all diplomatic ties with Qatar. This includes a ban on Qatar Airways flights. In addition to this Saudi Arabia and the UAE have given the citizens of Qatar 14 days, starting Monday, to leave the countries. Qatar Airways group CEO Akbar Al Baker stated that Qatar Airways has ensured that “all passengers were brought home safely to Doha within 24 hours of the flight cancellations”. This situation is a challenge for the airline which has just been named “Airline of the Year” at the Air Transport Awards 2017.
Suspended flights
Qatar Airways has suspended flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE (United Arab Emirates which include Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt until further notice.
Qatar Airways flights from South Africa
No schedule changes have been made as of yet to their 3 daily flights from South Africa (Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban) to Doha and onward connections to South East Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. Check back here for the latest updates as the situation evolves.
Full refunds and free rebooking
All Qatar Airways customers booked on these affected flights to these 4 countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates) will be provided with alternative options, including the option of a full refund on any unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternative Qatar Airways network destination.
Will all Qatar Airways flights to/from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt be cancelled?
Qatar Airways flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been cancelled on 5 June 2017, and to the UAE, the Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt as of 6 June 2017, until further notice.
Passengers holding a confirmed Qatar Airways ticket to any of the four countries between 5 June 2017 – 6 July 2017 are permitted to rebook their flights up to 30 days after their current confirmed departure date, one time free of charge.
Passengers will also be permitted to refund the unused portion of their tickets booked for the above period once, free of charge. The service fee remains non-refundable.
Passengers who have purchased their tickets from Qatar Airways have the following options to refund their tickets:
- For tickets booked on qatarairways.com,
- Go to refund requests at https://www.qatarairways.com/en/refund-request.html
- Approach the nearest Qatar Airways Office; or
- Call the Qatar Airways contact Centre at +974 4022 0072
- For tickets booked through a Qatar Airways Office or through the Contact Centre, passengers can
- Contact their nearest Qatar Airways Office; or
- Call Qatar Airways Contact Centre on +974 4022 0072
The refund will be made to the original form of payment and the refund will be processed within 14 to 28 days.
Emirates and Etihad
The airlines assure passengers that aside from Qatar routes, their usual flights will not be disrupted.
All customers booked on Emirates’ flights to and from Doha will be provided with alternative options, including full refunds on unused tickets and rebooking to alternate Emirates destinations.
Customers who booked with Emirates can process refunds for their tickets at www.emirates.com/refund or contact their local Emirates office.