Queen’s University students stranded in Doha after Iran attack shuts down airspace

A group of university students returning to Canada were forced back to Doha mid-flight as escalating strikes in the region shut down airspace and grounded flights.

A group of Queen’s University students is stranded at an airport in Doha, Qatar, after escalating hostilities in the Middle East prompted regional airspace closures and widespread flight disruptions.

Claire Haffner, a fourth-year undergraduate biology student, said the group had boarded a flight to Toronto following a field course in Sri Lanka, with a stopover in Doha, when they heard an announcement.

After being in the air for an hour and a half, “there was an announcement that the airspace was closed and we had to turn back,” she said.

The disruptions follow major strikes by the United States and Israel on targets in Iran, sharply intensifying tensions in the region.

In return, Iran responded by launching missiles in Israel and nearby Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, which resulted in an immediate shutdown of airspaces across the region.

“There was an initial panic among me and my classmates,” Haffner said.

She said the Qatar Airways flight returned to Doha, where passengers were briefly kept on board before disembarking into what she described as a “chaotic scene” inside the airport.

“Everybody rushed off the plane in a big mob,” she said. “It was chaotic earlier — there were crowds everywhere and lines, and trying to talk to staff. Everybody is dealing with it differently, but we’re all overwhelmed.”