'A lot of panic on the plane.' Travelers stuck after Iran strikes
USA TODAY
In the wake of the Trump administration’s conflict with Iran, travelers across the region have been stranded.
About an hour into Sarah Gaither’s flight out of Doha, Qatar, the crew told passengers they would be turning back.
The 27 year old, who was returning home to Dallas after vacation on the morning of Feb. 28, saw the news about U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran on her phone. “And then they made the announcement (about the unsafe airspace),” she told USA TODAY. “A lot of people had no clue what was happening, so there was a lot of panic on the plane.”
The Qatar Airways plane circled in the air until midday in order to burn fuel before landing back at Hamad International Airport (DOH), according to Gaither. The professional dog walker and content creator said flyers “waited and we waited and we waited” until around 5 p.m., when the staff said passengers could get a hotel voucher from the transfer desk.
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Some travelers waited as long as four hours, however, so Gaither decided to book her own accommodations. She has been stuck there since then – seeing and hearing missiles outside. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari, told CNN on March 2 that “more than 100 missiles and scores of drones” had been launched at the country (almost all missiles were downed "with very minimal damage" from those that hit targets, he added).
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