Mrs B and I have a long-planned trip to Europe coming up next month and, of course, we have been booked (by a travel company) onto Qatar Airlines, which means we have a short stop in Doha in both directions.
It would take a fair bit of crystal balling to know what is coming up but our options seem to be, either cancel the trip altogether and get a refund, re-book the airfares with another carrier ourselves (and take a big financial hit) or leave it as it is and cross our fingers.
What I want to ask is, has anyone flown through the ME, in particular Qatar, since all the noise started and if so, how was the experience?
Comments welcome but please, let's keep it nice.
Has Anyone Flown to/through The Middle East Recently?
branners on 16/04/2026 - 16:57
Comments
(disclosure; not flown through recently/not planning to, just my opinion below)
I think you need to be realistic about the potential risk of being in the area + also ensure you've checked your insurance choices - they may not cover financial costs due to the war (a lot of them have it in the fine print that they will NOT cover anything in such circumstances)
Given you're passing through; and presumably not leaving the airport; as long as there aren't major changes or cancellations in the area you are probably? OK?
But I guess at the end of the day you're weighing up your potential safety, anxiety, insurance, etc vs the short-term(depending how big) financial hit of rebooking via a different carrier.
I'd seriously weigh up how much it would really cost to change carriers/how much of a refund you'll get etc. If the financial hit is huge and you CANNOT sustain it reasonably, it might be worth going through with it but definitely have a chat with the airlines/insurers first either way!
Goodluck either way!
PS: if it were me; and I could sustain the financial hit; and without even asking my wife (as I know her answer) I know that we'd take the financial hit in favour of a safer route. Or cancel altogether if it wasn't sustainable to rebook immediately for the same timeframe. This may seem dramatic but things are kinda just crazy all round and I'd rather have peace of mind. Can always save up money again!
Surely far more chance of getting hit on the way to the airport vs being the next MH17? Sometimes we find ourselves worrying about the wrong thing
Perhaps you're right!
I think double checking travel insurance coverage etc (even if it's just accounting for delays/cancellations etc) is still relevant, though.
Agreed, I'm sure the airlines have done the maths on whether it's worth flying their $500 million plane through an active warzone (ignoring the cost of human life). If they think it's an OK business decision that's enough for me!
If you're on the next MH17 then the last thing you'll be worrying about is travel insurance.
Between the war milestones we get on the telly (iraq war, arab spring, w/e) there are missiles being lobbed around the place constantly (particularly being israel and its neighours), this has been going on for decades.
The current wars don't seem particularly more dangerous for a Dubai stop-over than the status quo - which most people are perfectly happy to ignore.
I’ve had a few work directors fly from Sydney to London via Dubai and it’s been fine.
Onlyfans uses directors now?
What about cameramen? Asking for a friend.just the main star
In mid march, we flew from Cairo back to Australia via Dubai, with a 7hr layover in Dubai.
Apart from delays in flights, and disruptions to both take off and landings in Dubai, everything was okay.
During our brief stop over, we were told that if alarms were sounded, we were to head down to the lowest level of the terminal. Didn't happen while we were there.
videos show you see missiles. well at least early on.
and you don't see the actual missile just the smoke it leaves behind. and it's really far away so the people on the plane didn't seem worried..
Qatar seems more cautious/constrained than, say, Emirates and have cancelled most flights. I’ve had two friends who have had their flights cancelled and received refunds. If your flight is before 15 June you can initiate the refund yourself (rather than wait for your flight to be cancelled by them).
Fvck That!
Ask your travel company to keep you updated.
No passenger planes have been shot down yet, right? I'd yolo it, though people like my parents probably wouldn't.