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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 Aug 9, 2017, 9:01 pm
  #1321  
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 Dr. HFH
Best way to get an authoritative answer is to call and ask, of course, keeping in mind the philosophy of HUACA.
Yes, naturally but I was hoping to avoid HUACA as I have had enough of the hassle with QR these last few weeks
NoY is offline  
Old Aug 9, 2017, 9:42 pm
  #1322  
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,152
Dad called QR in BOM. Was told flights are flying "normal schedules"?? Also no discounted J fares lately BOM-IAH??
vickh is offline  
Old Aug 10, 2017, 12:20 am
  #1323  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 57
Originally Posted by NoY
Regards, re-routes. Are QR covering hotel expenses if it’s only possible to connect to an early morning ex-DOH using a flight that arrives at DOH the night before? Thanks.
I was offered flight from AUH arriving BEY 23.30 and then continue to DOH at 14.30 next day without any hotel. They said no availability on the earlier flight. I hung up and call again to other country and they found me space on the earlier flight.
Amame is offline  
Old Aug 10, 2017, 1:43 am
  #1324  
NoY
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Programs: SQ *Gold, BA, QR, EY, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum, Marriott Gold, Amex Platinum
Posts: 5,273
Originally Posted by Amame
I was offered flight from AUH arriving BEY 23.30 and then continue to DOH at 14.30 next day without any hotel. They said no availability on the earlier flight. I hung up and call again to other country and they found me space on the earlier flight.
Good to know.
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Old Aug 10, 2017, 2:26 am
  #1325  
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: New York
Programs: QR Silver, BA Silver, FB Gold
Posts: 360
Originally Posted by chosun8181
I was re-routed from Cairo and on the return leg. Emailed them and got my 5 times mileage credited to my account after 1 week or so. On the leg from CAI to DOH, I got re-routed via RJ (then possible) thru Amman but I got 5 times based on CAI-DOH instead of the sectors of CAI-AMM-DOH. On the return leg, it was a mix of QR (DOH-LHR on QSuite!) and BA(LHR-CAI), so it was only 5 times on QR. So email them and remind them (I emailed them at the end of 1st leg).
Thank you for the information. Much appreciated.
husseinbadr is offline  
Old Aug 10, 2017, 5:42 pm
  #1326  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Originally Posted by Amame
I was offered flight from AUH arriving BEY 23.30 and then continue to DOH at 14.30 next day without any hotel. They said no availability on the earlier flight. I hung up and call again to other country and they found me space on the earlier flight.
This is an example of why it's recommended to lookup several alternate flights that are acceptable to you before you call. Know the flights and their availability in the various inventory buckets. You should get rebooked in the lowest available inventory in the same cabin.
anabolism is offline  
Old Aug 10, 2017, 10:02 pm
  #1327  
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: UK
Programs: BA GGL, BA LTG/GFL, Honors Diamond, Accor Platinum, Bonvoy Silver
Posts: 718
After my "success" last week with amending my 2nd booking during the blockade, I decided to sort my 3rd blockade impacted trip - HEL DOH DXB in October. 8 weeks ahead.

1 call with 39 minutes holding on the UK number. Whatever system they use to forward calls to the actual provider location isn't great - there was continuos clipping and break up of the agent (happens each time but this was worse) so we had a bit of faff mutually asking each other to repeat parts of the conversation. I wasn't going to call back and lose my place in the queue.

I again asked to change to HEL DOH MCT (I'll separately sort out getting to DXB with my own $, but wanted to confirm I am actually going to get to the region on or around my preferred dates).

Again the agent misunderstood and started a scripted spiel about 72 hrs and we'll change it. I wasn't interested in taking the risk of availability on whichever carrier they might deem as acceptable in 3 months time, (particularly as BA via LHR seems to no longer be offered) so clarified, no change of carrier, just shift DOH DXB to DOH MCT, on QR.

I had checked expertflyer with connecting routing availability (it's interesting the married sector availability does dramatically change - on one specific DOH HEL flight depending on which MCT DOH flight is used before it, to the extent of only J4, C2, D1, I0, R0 availability with one specific connector from MCT, but the same HEL flight with a different connector is J9, C9, D9, I9, Rx (can't recall R). In this instance POS didn't make any difference between UK, US and UAE.

No problem, all done. Moved from I to D on the return HEL and a 787 is currently scheduled.

Expertflyer (other systems are available) was critical to plan the requested change and confirm availability. I was not in the mood to hear "sorry, no availability" as I could definitely see there was (including the married sector and any POS issue) but no problems.

As a same day, airside connection with no checked bags in MCT, I don't think I will need to pay the £40 tourist tax/visa fee in either direction, and directly returning by air from DXB with a DXB entry visa, it's exempt anyway.
rjn21 is offline  
Old Aug 12, 2017, 12:12 pm
  #1328  
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, AF Platinum,TK and A3 Gold
Posts: 233
I would like to whom Shall i write to retro claim my mileage?
I flown LHR-DOH-PNH with QR. QR change my flight numbers to BA numbers and now AA says that my flight is Ineligible.
any advice?
thanks
john1987 is offline  
Old Aug 12, 2017, 12:26 pm
  #1329  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,944
john1987 you should retroclaim the original routing from QR.
remdk is offline  
Old Aug 12, 2017, 2:27 pm
  #1330  
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, AF Platinum,TK and A3 Gold
Posts: 233
thanks.
do you have the email address?
i want my mileage to be credit to my AA emerald account.including my executive platinum bonus .
john1987 is offline  
Old Aug 12, 2017, 4:02 pm
  #1331  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
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Posts: 11,670
US line offering LCA and AMM, but not ATH.

A word of caution: If you flights have gone unconfirmed, call asap to rebook and don't wait too long, because when the flights go unconfirmed you also loose your seats on the second, long haul leg (DOH-XXX) as well, and you may get rebooked on different flights with long layovers.
nk15 is online now  
Old Aug 13, 2017, 12:48 am
  #1332  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Doha, Qatar
Programs: Qatar Airways Privilege Club Platinum; Accor Le Club Platinum
Posts: 1,078
Originally Posted by nk15
US line offering LCA and AMM, but not ATH.

A word of caution: If you flights have gone unconfirmed, call asap to rebook and don't wait too long, because when the flights go unconfirmed you also loose your seats on the second, long haul leg (DOH-XXX) as well, and you may get rebooked on different flights with long layovers.
That's a solid point! I was surprised by this very fact last week when my MUC-DOH-CAI flight went 'unconfirmed' and my MUC-DOH was also placed into unconfirmed. Luckily, I caught the issue on the first day and was able to retain my J class seats while they moved my end point to BEY.
SullyofDoha is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2017, 12:54 am
  #1333  
Moderator: Hyatt Gold Passport & Star Alliance
 
Join Date: May 1998
Location: London, UK
Programs: UA-1K 3MM/HY- LT Globalist/BA-GGL/GfL
Posts: 12,093
Originally Posted by nk15
US line offering LCA and AMM, but not ATH.

A word of caution: If you flights have gone unconfirmed, call asap to rebook and don't wait too long, because when the flights go unconfirmed you also loose your seats on the second, long haul leg (DOH-XXX) as well, and you may get rebooked on different flights with long layovers.
All very well but they are refusing me rebooking until 3 days before!
Markie is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2017, 12:54 am
  #1334  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 57
Has anyone changed their November flight yet? Last times I called they said it is too early and they only changed my October flight.
Amame is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2017, 3:29 am
  #1335  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 3,944
john1987 the web address is https://qmiles.qatarairways.com/ffpo...RetroClaim.jsf and the e-mail address is [email protected].

That you want to credit AA makes this much more complicated.
QR will probably say that it is an AA problem. I think that AA can only see te flights flown not the original routing so QR need to inform them. But if AA can see the original routing then you should retroclaim original routing from AA.
Further complications could be Which airline is the marketing airline. (Whose flight numbers are on your rservation for each flight) and which FFP number you used for the original booking.

This is very much a grey area so I would suggest that you make retroclaims to both airlines.
remdk is offline  


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