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Qatar Airways - UAE, KSA, Bahrain and Egypt withdraw licenses and close airspace

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Old Jun 5, 2017, 6:48 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: plunet
Wiki last updated: 21 July 2017 18:00 UTC

Summary of key traveller experiences and feedback on this forum since Mid-June
  • Policy statement (link) for the travel industry issued 15th June 2017
  • Refund is always an option, but very varied experiences of how quickly the refund is processed, from a few days to "still waiting". Some experiences of passengers being pressurised into taking refunds when this is not necessary if you can wait.
  • If you want to reroute from a closed destination to another middle east destination still served by QR, you might be able to do this as early as 30 days from 1st sector, although we have had reports of rerouting at 6 weeks out.
  • Where QR have to reroute onto other carriers, long haul reroutes typically onto BA, CX and TK seem to be quoted most often. In the Gulf region ME, KU, WY are quoted most often. Although RJ is a OneWorld carrier and should be a parter for QR, they are not accepting QR rerouted tickets.
  • Status of reservations for travel to affected destinations typically changes to "Unconfirmed" 7 days ahead of travel.
  • If your booking was via a 3rd party or agent you probably can't get Qatar to change the ticket until 72 hours before the first sector. 3rd parties and agents seem to be offering refunds rather than rerouting, although there has been some success if you can show them the QR rebooking policy document.
  • There has been a very mixed bag of reports of how QR are handling rebooking. Some people have no luck getting itineraries changed before 72 hours before departure, but others do. So some good advice is to always be polite but if you don't get what you want, then thank the agent for their time and HUACA (hang up and call again) - preferably after you have had a drink and have calmed down, and maybe calling a different office.

Some specific data points from other travellers:
(but there is a lot more valuable information if you can trawl back through the thread)

#753 CAI-LHR-DOH been offered as alternative for ex-CAI 4 days prior to 1st sector.
#772 KUL-DOH-LXR reroute to CAI and IST refused
#792 AUH-DOH-DPS by QR rebooked to DXB-HKG-DPS by CX
#794 Australia-DOH-HBE rebooked as DOH-BEY on QR on 2nd attempt.
#808 CAI>DOH>BOS>DOH>CAI rebooked to KRT and date change
#818 SYD-DOH-CAI changed to SYD-DOH-KWI-CAI, layovers optimed and +Qatar stopover
#830 and #840 Economy ICN-DOH-DXB rebooked onto CX ICN-HKG-DXB
#849 ex-CAI ininaries changed to ex-AMM but needed to HUACA a few times.
#856 CAI-DOH-BKK changed to FCO-DOH-BKK all on QR
#868 DFW-DOH-HBE changed to DFW-DOH-LCA all on QR 2 weeks out.
#906 Unable to get LXR-DOH-HKG-BNE rerouted until 72 hours prior
#927 CAI-DOH-BKK rebooked onto CAI-BAH-AMM on Gulf DOH-BKK (on QR) and return back to AMM
#966 DXB-DOH (award ticket) was changed to DXB-KWI-DOH on Kuwait+QR 48hrs in advance
#966 DOH-CAI (2 award tickets) were changed to DOH-BEY on QR 48 hours advance
#966 CAI-DOH-MUC (paid business) were changed to BEY-DOH-MUC 72 hours advance
#981 HKT-DOH-DWC (J/F tix) change to HKT-DOH-KWI all on QR 10 days out.
#985 ex-LXR ticket rerouted by OTA as CAI-BEY-DOH outside the 72 hr window
#1004 BKK-DOH-CAI in F rebooked as BKK-DOH-BEY in QR F, BEY-CAI in C on ME
#1005 HEL-DOH-DXB rebooked HEL-DOH-MCT on QR and MCT-DXB on Oman once ticket status went to unconfirmed.
#1057 MAN-DOH-DXB rebooked as MAN-LHR-DXB on BA (had to HUACA 3 times)
#1141 Multiple ex-CAI itineraries CAI-DOK-BKK return in J, CAI-DOH-LHR return in J, CAI-DOH-BKK single in F changed to all be ex-KWI. Had to HUACA 3 times.
#1157 LXR-DOH-NRT booked in January, flight changed to CAI-DOH-NRT
#1172 Rebooked CAI-(F)-DOH(J)-BKK to CAI-(C/ME)-BEY-(F)-DOH-(C)-BKK at 77hrs from departure
#1173 Rebooked at QR office HBE-DOH-DPS to HBE-IST-DOH-DPS on TK/TK/QR and improved timing on DOS-DPS segment

Offical guidance from QR website as of mid July:

Passengers who have purchased their tickets from Qatar Airways have the following options to refund their tickets:

For tickets booked on qatarairways.com, they can:
  1. Go to Refund requests;
  2. They can approach their nearest Qatar Airways Office; or
  3. They can 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
  1. Contact their nearest Qatar Airways Office; or
  2. 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 - 28 days.
Passengers who have purchased their Qatar Airways tickets through a Travel Agency can request their refund from the issuing Travel Agent.
Within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt please use: https://refundsapp1.blueivysync.com/...er-refund.html

This is a different web form as the Qatar website is blocked from some of these countries.
For further information and FAQs please visit: http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...002369667-FAQs
What Happened

On the 6th of June flights from Qatar to Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (and vice versa) were suspended.

This includes all Qatar flights between Doha and Abu Dhabi, Abha, Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Bahrain, Buraydah, Cairo, Dammam, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Dubai–International, Gassim, Hofuf, Jeddah, Luxor, Madinah, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh, Sharjah, Tabuk, Ta'if and Yanbu.

Adding to this at 00:00 (UTC) on the 6th of June restrictions were put in place limiting flights to Doha to one particular corridor through the airspace of Bahrain. This has since been relaxed to two specific corridors through Bahrain airspace with a second corridor up the Saudi Arabia the new addition.

All other flights to other Qatar Airways destinations including the Maldives are still operating although some have delays due to the extended time required to avoid restricted airspace.

There are a couple of routes that are having to make fuel stops in Athens or Muscat but this seems to be dependent on the type of aircraft as well.

Details on the Airspace can be found here - https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/f...ain-and-egypt/

What about my Flights to other destinations?

Flights to Europe, Asia, Pacific and Norte America are operating as per schedule with minimal delays. There is no need to contact QR regarding these services.

Flights between Doha and Souto America are facing delays due to longer times and/or need for a technical stop-over. Flights to GRU and EZE are 2hr to 5hrs longer.

Flight between Doha and Africa/Middle East have longer flights times due to the airspace restrictions. Some routes like Doha to Khartoum have felt the full force of the restrictions with the flight now taking 2hr 30 mins longer than normal.

Qatar has begun to re-time flights to ensure the network continues running smoothly. Changes have been since Monday 12 June 2017, so it is advised to check your flight status and times on the Qatar website.


What about my flight to a suspended destination?

If you are due to fly in the next few days, search for alternative routings and note them down.

24 hours before your scheduled departure time, contact your LOCAL QR office, and ask for their assistance. Advise them that you have found an alternative routing which you would be willing to accept and see if they will book it for you.

If you are due to fly more than 5 days from today, try and relax. Do not panic and please do not call QR as you are blocking the lines for those flying in the next 24 hours. At this stage, Qatar is only offering options to those who are traveling in the next 24 hours.

Currently, people in the thread have suggested that Qatar is rebooking on flights through Muscat, Kuwait, Amman, Istanbul, Mumbai, Beirut, Athens and Tunis.

You can only get a refund if your booking is to one of the destinations listed at the top! (The number of people asking QR on Twitter for a refund of other flights is amazing)

What about other airlines?

Most other carriers in and out of Doha are still operating except for Air Arabia, Air Arabia Egypt, Air Cairo, EgyptAir, Emirates, Etihad, FlyDubai, Rotana Jet and Saudia.

Most other carriers are using the new restricted routes into Doha although provided the aircraft is not registered in Qatar they are allowed to use the Saudi Arabia or Egypt Airspace.

Timeline of Events:


5 June 2017

- UAE, KSA, Bahrain and Egypt withdraw licenses and close airspace
- All MS flights between CAI and DOH was zeroed out
- All GF flights between BAH and DOH closed for sale
- All QR flights between DOH and CAI closed for sale
- All QR staff travel was canceled

6 June 2017

- Airspace Restriction came into effect at 00:00 (UTC)
- All QR flights between DOH and UAE/Bahrain/KSA closed for sale
- QR flights between DOH and MLE still bookable
- QR Charters 3 aircraft from Jeddah to Muscat

7 June 2017
- QR Charters an aircraft from Jeddah to Kuwait

8 June 2017
- Qatar Airways website blocked in the UAE
- Qatar Airways offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain close

11 June 2017
- Second flight corridor added along the Saudi Arabia Coast

13 June 2017
- UAE Relaxes rules allowing non Qatari registered aircraft to use their airspace to/from Qatar but they are still not allowing flights between the UAE and Qatar from any operators.
- Egypt Relaxes rules allowing non Qatari registered aircraft to use their airspace to/from Qatar. The new rules also allow for non Qatar or Egypt registered aircraft to operate flights between the two countries.

14 June 2017
- Agreement between QR and BA/A3 on reticketing passengers (link below)



Further information:
- QR Travel Alert http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...bile_site=true
- QR FAQs http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...002369667-FAQs
- QR Charter flights arranged from Jeddah KSA to Muscat Oman http://support.qatarairways.com/hc/e...Muscat-to-Doha
- QR agreement with BA & A3 to reticket their flights http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar...r-help-qr.html
- Political background and latest updates: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40155829
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Qatar Airways - UAE, KSA, Bahrain and Egypt withdraw licenses and close airspace

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Old Jul 8, 2017, 1:27 pm
  #1066  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Doha, Qatar
Programs: Qatar Airways Privilege Club Platinum; Accor Le Club Platinum
Posts: 1,079
Originally Posted by schlingu
Dear all
would like your recent experience with rebooking when starting from Cai. our trip Cai F Doh J Bkk is due in two weeks and i am looking into my Options right now. Thanks for sharing with me.
CAI start moved to BEY.
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Old Jul 8, 2017, 3:55 pm
  #1067  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
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I had booked CAI-DOH-IAH in QR business. I called QR Bahrain just inside of 72 hours of my departure from CAI and was offered the options of CAI-LHR-IAH in business on BA or CAI-IST-IAH in business on TK. I chose the TK option largely because BA appeared to have nothing but middle seats on LHR-IAH on its very unappealing 2-4-2 772 business class product; one of the downsides to a close-in booking. QR handled the call professionally and the re-ticketing was virtually instantaneous once I expressed my flight preference.
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Old Jul 9, 2017, 12:47 am
  #1068  
formerly rxfleming
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: AUH, DXB (and GLA)
Programs: BA GGL, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Plat Elite
Posts: 2,456
Originally Posted by Grace B
Yes, I know what you mean. I requested cancellation/refund for 3 separate tickets a couple of weeks ago.

Two have now been fully refunded and the third they won't even acknowledge, let alone process.

I just wonder if they're not touching anything with a start date after October.

Is this the case with your ticket?
Not quite.
My ticket was for travel next week. When I call QR, they say they can see the ticket has been cancelled but no refund processed.
travelwithross is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 3:08 am
  #1069  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Originally Posted by remdk
You should regularly use the Manage My Booking (MMB) function of the QR website to see if your flight times have changed. If your connection time is under 45 minutes then you should contact QR immediately. In that situation it will be an advantage if you have looked at alternative combinations of the two flights each day to/from both MAD and HKT and can suggest an acceptable alternative.

I personally have found the My Flights app very useful and will notify you of changes where QR does not.
I've been using CheckMyTrip, which is an interface set up by Amadeus, the GDS used by QR. There is also a mobile app version. You can create a free account and import trips by the QR booking reference number. The trips will live update (show latest status and flight info) and send you email when anything changes.
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Old Jul 9, 2017, 3:28 am
  #1070  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,918
Whilst CheckMyTrip is good - it's not as good as MyFlights. There are details that MyFlights will pick up - for example a change of equipment - that CheckMyTrip does not.

The MyFlights app is developed and maintained by FlyerTalker @schofs and is receptive to feedback and suggestions - there is an ongoing thread about MyFlights app in the BA Forum.

Although MyFlights has recently introduced a subscription based service with more frequent checks and other services, there is a basic free service and it is the intention this will remains. MyFlights has an iOS app and otherwise you need to use the website - they have plans for an Android app shortly.
plunet is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 3:56 am
  #1071  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: qatar gold
Posts: 23
Qatar shifts me to Turkish Airline

Hi Chaps,

I had a DXB-DOH-JFK return planned next month but with the current standoff I had planned to can the ticket. However QR called me and proposed to shift me to Turkish Airline.

I'm quite confused since they are not part of the same airline alliance of any sort.

Has anyone been proposed the same?
ostendadler is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 4:54 am
  #1072  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 12
Hi,

yes, I have a DXB-DOH-HND flight in 10 days and called them a few days ago regarding my options. They told me that they can immediately rebook me on Turkish or to a few other airlines 72hours before departure. As there are no suitable flights on TK except with 20h+ layovers in IST I will wait for the 72h window and then ask for a Cathay Pacific flight. Rebooking to CX should be no problem according to the agent on the phone.
TomDXB is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 4:57 am
  #1073  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: UK
Programs: AA
Posts: 209
QR have been rerouting via TK throughout the current problems. I flew back to the UK from Dxb last week via TK and I don't think I will get the relevant AA miles.

If you still want to cancel call QR for the options or ask if they could reroute via BA but that may mean waiting 72 hours of your travel.
steviewire is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 5:49 am
  #1074  
Moderator: Qatar Airways
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,950
Originally Posted by schlingu
Dear all
would like your recent experience with rebooking when starting from Cai. our trip Cai F Doh J Bkk is due in two weeks and i am looking into my Options right now. Thanks for sharing with me.
There are numerous examples of what QR can offer within this thread.

Please take the time to read through a few previous pages, before posting something which has been asked many times.

M
msm2000uk is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 6:07 am
  #1075  
NoY
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Phuket
Programs: SQ *Gold, BA, QR, EY, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum, Marriott Gold, Amex Platinum
Posts: 5,273
Originally Posted by IAN-UK
QR customer service has had me banging my head against the wall. Ok, that's figuratively. But really, they are generally dreadful.

So when a star emerges (and they do!) please do recognise the effort made, the service given.

Though I sometimes worry that heads standing tall get lopped off for putting the rest of the outfit to shame..
Message commending the agent has ben sent ^
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Old Jul 9, 2017, 7:12 am
  #1076  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: qatar gold
Posts: 23
I just had a conversation with someone in the FF team of QR and they assured me that despite flying Turkish airline i would still make the miles and gain access to the different lounges in dxb and ist.

However so far they've only changed my ticket on the way to JFK my return ticket is still QR as of now and I have to wait a few more days.
ostendadler is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 7:37 am
  #1077  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: NYC
Programs: BAEC Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 407
I wonder if they would do:
QF DXB-LHR
AA LHR-JFK
Pochama is online now  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 9:02 am
  #1078  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NYC
Programs: AS MVP Gold, BA Silver, AA Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,619
Originally Posted by ostendadler
I just had a conversation with someone in the FF team of QR and they assured me that despite flying Turkish airline i would still make the miles and gain access to the different lounges in dxb and ist.
For clarity,

1. miles on which program? TK?

2. re lounges, what class of service are you booked in? (no surprise re *A lounges if you're booked in J class)
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Old Jul 9, 2017, 9:44 am
  #1079  
Suspended
 
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Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
There is nothing odd about rebooking QR onto TK. The two carriers have an interline ticketing agreement and reticketing is as seamless as any other connection.

Miles issues are dealt with as a matter of Original Routing Credit by QR. Because QR and TK are in different alliances, after your TK flight, you will be able to claim credit to your preferred *A carrier as well.
Often1 is offline  
Old Jul 9, 2017, 3:34 pm
  #1080  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Originally Posted by plunet
Whilst CheckMyTrip is good - it's not as good as MyFlights. There are details that MyFlights will pick up - for example a change of equipment - that CheckMyTrip does not.
Thanks for the info, I'll have to try MyFlights. When you say it picks up details that CheckMyTrip doesn't, do you mean it shows more details than CheckMyTrip, or that it send you alerts when things change that CheckMyTrip wouldn't send an alert for?

As an aside, I find CheckMyTrip frustrating compared to TripCase (run by Sabre); TC has an "arranger itinerary" view that shows each segment in an easy to see format, including which cabin you're in and the e-ticket numbers, and is a URL that can be kept open in a web tab, while CMT forces you to click each trip to see it, has a harder to read jumble of info, and doesn't show the cabin or e-ticket numbers.
anabolism is offline  


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