Two Qatar Airways flights from UK in mid-air U-turns after ‘explosions’ in Middle East
Two Qatar Airways flights from UK airports to the Middle East has been forced into a U-turn mid-flight after explosions were reportedly heard in popular holiday destinations
Two flights have been forced into a mid-air U-turn (stock)
Two flights from the UK were forced into dramatic mid-air U-turns after “explosions heard” today (February 28).
The Qatar Airways flights from Edinburgh Airport and Birmingham Airport were halted mid-air after attacks on Iran by US and Israel sparked backlash in the Middle East.
A flight departing Edinburgh Airport destined for Qatar has performed a dramatic U-turn mid-flight and is heading back to Scotland.
The Qatar Airways flight QTR59F took off from the capital at approximately 7.50am on Saturday, February 28, with Doha as its planned destination later this evening.
But the Boeing 787 has now changed course and is returning to Scotland.
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The aircraft had journeyed south across England, traversed the North Sea, passed over Amsterdam and reached halfway through Germany before executing a complete 180-degree reversal.
Flightradar displays the plane making the abrupt turn, now heading back towards Edinburgh, reports Edinburgh Live.
A flight from Birmingham Airport to Doha has been diverted mid-air after the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran.
The delayed QR36 Qatar Airways flight left BHX at 8.31am today but is now heading back to the Solihull airport.
Birmingham Airport’s out-of-hours press office has confirmed to BirminghamLive that the QR36 Qatar Airways flight’s diversion back to the airport is linked to the US-Israel’s attack on Iran.
The flight was due to land in Doha at 5.20pm local time. Qatar’s capital’s is only around a two-hour flight away from Iran.
This follows reports of missiles being intercepted over Qatar with blasts audible as far away as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, according to Al Jazeera. Explosions have also reportedly been heard within Qatar itself.
A breaking news bulletin from Al Jazeera stated: “New explosions have been reported in Doha. This comes shortly after Qatar’s defence ministry said it had downed all missiles targeting the country in a ‘second wave’ of attacks.”
British Airways said it has cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain until March 3.
According to reports, an overnight BA flight from Heathrow to Doha has turned around and is returning to London.
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “We are closely monitoring the situation and have taken the operational decision to cancel our flights to Tel Aviv and Bahrain up to and including 03 March and have cancelled today’s service to Amman.
“Safety is always our top priority, and we’re contacting our customers to advise them of their travel options.”
WizzAir, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic have all cancelled services to the region on Saturday.
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