Qatar Airways flights: CEO pens open letter saying 'operation has stabilised' - but passengers claim 'crisis far from over' as left with 'no support'
The CEO of Qatar Airways has penned an open letter saying its “operation has stabilised” - but passengers claim the “crisis far from over”.
Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, Group Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways, shared a heartfelt message to passengers on social media. He opened up about how the Doha-based national carrier faced an extraordinary operational crisis starting June 23.
He said: “This week brought an operational crisis few airlines will ever encounter, and one that challenged the very core of what it means to run a global airline. At the time, over 90 Qatar Airways flights carrying more than 20,000 passengers to Doha, were forced to divert immediately”.
Flights were rerouted to airports across Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, Oman, the UAE, and further afield to major hubs in Europe and Asia. He said: “The priority for us was clear: to care for our passengers impacted by the unprecedented situation that continued to unfold, and to restore our global operations as safely and swiftly as possible.
“Our teams coordinated on hard resource planning, catering, ground transport, hotel accommodation, and real-time alignment with passenger movements, immigration, customs, and every airport stakeholder.” According to the CEO more than 4,600 passengers were accommodated in approximately 3,200 hotel rooms across Doha, with many receiving onward boarding passes before leaving the terminal to ease the resumption of their journeys.
He added that by June 24, Qatar Airways operated 390 flights, steadily rebuilding its network. Within 24 hours, all passengers from diverted flights—around 20,000 people—were cleared, with over 11,000 resuming their journeys during the morning wave alone. The operation stabilized rapidly, and by 25 June, 578 scheduled flights were operating.
He concluded: “To everyone who travelled with us during this difficult time — to those who waited patiently in long queues, to those who faced uncertainty, and to those who showed understanding in the face of a worrying and rapidly-evolving crisis — I thank you.” However, comments posted on social media suggest that many Qatar Airways passengers are far from happy after being left with “no support”.
One user wrote: “I'm still in Manchester after my fly was diverted back to origin. No new date because can't get through to customer service. This crisis is far from resolved. I've already DMd, emailed, called, tried to live chat.”
Another added: “Customer service is a nightmare!! No-one has answered our call in 45+ hours of calling non-stop and trying to contact you via instagram, X, facebook, whatsapp, and emails! This is a disaster in basic customer communication. We have not been able to reach a SINGLE staff member!“.