A Qatar Airways flight from Edinburgh to Doha was forced to make an emergency 180-degree turn mid-air on Saturday morning after explosions were reported across the Middle East. The Boeing 787, operating as flight QTR59F, departed Edinburgh at approximately 7:50 am but has since diverted and is returning to Scotland.
The disruption follows US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with Iranian counterattacks targeting American bases and interests in the region. Airspace over the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Iran, Iraq, and parts of Saudi Arabia has been closed, prompting widespread flight cancellations and delays.
At Heathrow Airport, reports indicate that packed Qatar Airways flights were called back to the terminal while taxiing to runways as news of the conflict broke. British Airways has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until 3 March, while Lufthansa has suspended services to Tel Aviv, Beirut, and Oman. Norwegian Air has halted all flights to and from Dubai.
Qatar Airways has temporarily suspended flights due to the closure of Qatari airspace. Virgin Atlantic is rerouting flights to avoid Iraqi airspace and has cancelled its London to Dubai service. Wizz Air has suspended all flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until 7 March.
