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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Chaos for thousands of passengers stranded at Doha airport, long queues in Dubai
By Luke Tyson, Amr Alfiky and Mark Bendeich DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) -Operations at two of the world's busiest airports in Doha and Dubai slowed to a crawl on Tuesday as thousands of travellers queued for hours, facing long delays and flight cancellations after the temporary closure of airspace a day earlier. Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait shut their airspace late on Monday after Iran's strike on a U.S. military base in Qatar's capital Doha, forcing airlines to cancel or reroute hundreds of flights and creating a backlog of stranded passengers. Airports across Dubai in the United Arab Emirates briefly halted operations. U.S. President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was in place and asked both sides not to violate it, raising hopes of an end to the 12-day war, but hostilities continued, with deadly attacks reported in both countries. "I haven't slept for 19 hours. And I've been in this line over nine hours," said Lily Rogers, 21, who was in an around 200 metres (656 feet) queue in Doha's Hamad International airport. The psychology student, en route to an holiday in Southeast Asia, said those in line were only given water during the wait. Virgin Australia estimated that over 25,000 passengers were stranded at Doha airport. Lines were so long that arguments broke out as some passengers jumped queues, according to a Reuters witness. Around 250 flights were cancelled at Hamad airport, while another 238 were delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. Long queues formed also at Dubai International, the busiest airport in the world, where about 145 flights were cancelled and over 450 delayed, FlightRadar24 data showed. Qatar Airways said it was "making progress in restoring its schedule" with possible disruptions until June 26. Dubai Airports and the Dubai government media office were not immediately available for comment. BUSY HUB Airports in the Middle East are some of the busiest in the world, covering an area stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean and serving as a connecting hub for flights between Europe and Asia. The region has also taken on a more important role since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has forced airlines to avoid airspace over both countries. Dubai transported 92.3 million passengers last year, with a daily average of over 250,000. Israel's strikes against Iran on June 13 already prompted airlines from British Airways to Lufthansa to halt flights to some Middle East destinations due to air space closures and safety concerns. Following the U.S. attacks on Iran on Sunday, many have also cut flights to typically resilient hubs such as Dubai. The restrictions and closures have created ripple effects beyond the region, as most passenger traffic transits through Hamad airport to other destinations, said Asia-based independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie. Only 22% of passengers travelling through the airport had Qatar as their final destination in 2024, airport data shows. On Monday, Air India suspended flights to and from the U.S. East Coast, Canada and Europe, which involve a tight corridor between those destinations and the Indian subcontinent. That poses a challenge for Indian carriers because they do not have access to Pakistani airspace, analysts say. The two neighbours blocked access to each other's airspace in April after a brief military conflict. Air India said on Tuesday it would resume those flights as soon as airspaces reopen, while other carriers such as flydubai warned that delays would persist due to airspace congestion. "It's very frustrating," said Julien Moutte, a Paris-bound passenger who had been stuck at Doha's airport for around 15 hours.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Chaos for thousands of passengers stranded at Doha airport, long queues in Dubai
* Chaos for thousands of passengers stranded at Doha airport, long queues in Dubai Doha, Dubai airports face delays, cancellations as airspace shut * Iran's strike on US base in Doha impacts thousands of passengers * Hostilities continue with deadly attacks despite ceasefire By Luke Tyson, Amr Alfiky and Mark Bendeich DUBAI/DOHA, - Operations at two of the world's busiest airports in Doha and Dubai slowed to a crawl on Tuesday as thousands of travellers queued for hours, facing long delays and flight cancellations after the temporary closure of airspace a day earlier. Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait shut their airspace late on Monday after Iran's strike on a U.S. military base in Qatar's capital Doha, forcing airlines to cancel or reroute hundreds of flights and creating a backlog of stranded passengers. Airports across Dubai in the United Arab Emirates briefly halted operations. U.S. President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was in place and asked both sides not to violate it, raising hopes of an end to the 12-day war, but hostilities continued, with deadly attacks reported in both countries. "I haven't slept for 19 hours. And I've been in this line over nine hours," said Lily Rogers, 21, who was in an around 200 metres queue in Doha's Hamad International airport. The psychology student, en route to an holiday in Southeast Asia, said those in line were only given water during the wait. Virgin Australia estimated that over 25,000 passengers were stranded at Doha airport. Lines were so long that arguments broke out as some passengers jumped queues, according to a Reuters witness. Around 250 flights were cancelled at Hamad airport, while another 238 were delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. Long queues formed also at Dubai International, the busiest airport in the world, where about 145 flights were cancelled and over 450 delayed, FlightRadar24 data showed. Qatar Airways said it was "making progress in restoring its schedule" with possible disruptions until June 26. Dubai Airports and the Dubai government media office were not immediately available for comment. BUSY HUB Airports in the Middle East are some of the busiest in the world, covering an area stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean and serving as a connecting hub for flights between Europe and Asia. The region has also taken on a more important role since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has forced airlines to avoid airspace over both countries. Dubai transported 92.3 million passengers last year, with a daily average of over 250,000. Israel's strikes against Iran on June 13 already prompted airlines from British Airways to Lufthansa to halt flights to some Middle East destinations due to air space closures and safety concerns. Following the U.S. attacks on Iran on Sunday, many have also cut flights to typically resilient hubs such as Dubai. The restrictions and closures have created ripple effects beyond the region, as most passenger traffic transits through Hamad airport to other destinations, said Asia-based independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie. Only 22% of passengers travelling through the airport had Qatar as their final destination in 2024, airport data shows. On Monday, Air India suspended flights to and from the U.S. East Coast, Canada and Europe, which involve a tight corridor between those destinations and the Indian subcontinent. That poses a challenge for Indian carriers because they do not have access to Pakistani airspace, analysts say. The two neighbours blocked access to each other's airspace in April after a brief military conflict. Air India said on Tuesday it would resume those flights as soon as airspaces reopen, while other carriers such as flydubai warned that delays would persist due to airspace congestion. "It's very frustrating," said Julien Moutte, a Paris-bound passenger who had been stuck at Doha's airport for around 15 hours. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Straits Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
EU sees Syria instability as terror risk
FILE PHOTO: A family, seen through razor wire and barbed wire, walk in the Sayyida Zaynab neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky BRUSSELS - Instability in Syria could pose security risks for Europe, according to a draft internal EU counter-terrorism document seen by Reuters warning that the overall terror threat level remains high. European officials have been cautiously optimistic about Syria's new leadership - which came to power in December after overthrowing former President Bashar al-Assad - despite its Islamist roots. But they are worried about volatility in northeast Syria. "Terrorism and violent extremism continue to pose a significant threat to the European Union and its Member States. The overall threat level remains high," the document said. "Developments in the security situation in Syria could lead to the resurgence of jihadist groups in the region either with a risk of departure from Syrian territory, possibly to Europe, or through the remote activation of jihadists on the European continent," it added. The May 9 draft outlines recommendations and notes that "Islamist/jihadist terrorism remains the most prominent threat to the European Union". European officials worry that as Syria undergoes political transition, terror groups could form in the country or prisoners involved in past extremist activity could be released. Islamic State controlled swathes of Syria and Iraq at the peak of its power from 2014-2017 when it imposed hardline Islamist rule over millions of people. Western nations fear the new authorities' inability to control the entire country is opening the door for a resurgence. Kurdish-led authorities run camps for Islamic State-linked prisoners in northeast Syria and began organising large-scale returns in January because of the change of government. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa remains on a United Nations terrorism sanctions list for his previous leadership of Islamist armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al Qaeda affiliate. Nevertheless, French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with al-Sharaa earlier this month, said he would urge the EU to end sanctions on Syria. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
First migrants charged for entering military zone on US border
A general view of the Department of Justice building is seen ahead of the release of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report in Washington, U.S., April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo First migrants charged for entering military zone on US border The U.S. Department of Justice has begun the first prosecutions of migrants for illegally entering a military zone created along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, according to court filings. Some 28 migrants were charged in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Monday for crossing into the 170-mile-long (274-km-long) buffer zone patrolled by U.S. troops, according to court filings. Creation of the 60-foot-wide (18.3-meter-wide) strip this month along the base of New Mexico gave U.S. troops the authority to detain and search migrants in the area. Troops cannot arrest migrants or other civilians outside military zones. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited the area last week and said it was phase one of a plan to extend the buffer zone along the border. "Any illegal attempting to enter that zone is entering a military base," Hegseth said in video posted on social media. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico in a statement called the defense area a "dangerous erosion of the constitutional principle that the military should not be policing civilians." Court documents showed migrants detained in the area were charged with both crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally and entering a restricted area. The so-called New Mexico National Defense Area was created with the transfer of 110,000 acres (445 sq km) of federal land to the U.S. Army. Migrants detained in the area by U.S. troops are transferred to civilian law enforcement, such as U.S. Border Patrol, before prosecution, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The buffer zone allowed the Trump administration to use troops to arrest migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events like civil disorder. The last time the Insurrection Act was invoked was during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Around 11,900 troops are currently deployed to the U.S. Southwest border where the number of migrants caught illegally crossing in March fell to the lowest level ever recorded, according to government data. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
