A British couple travelling home from a holiday in Sri Lanka via the Middle East have found themselves ‘stranded’ in Oman.
Nathan Silver, and Elana Phillips, both 23, were travelling on flight QR0661 from Colombo to Doha.
Nathan told the Daily Mail: ‘We had our flight back from Colombo in Sri Lanka on Saturday morning via Doha, Qatar and then to Heathrow.
‘We already knew about was going on with the US and Israel, but we didn’t think it would affect us.
‘But there was WiFi on the flight. We saw that the US had launched strikes.
‘At that time, we were a few hours outside of Qatar and thought we’d make it there.
‘But the airline, Qatar Airways, announced they would be landing in Oman – without saying anything about what’s happening.
‘Instead, we landed in Muscat airport. We had to stay on the plane in the airport for seven hours – without them really explaining what was going on.
‘At that point they were suggesting we might still go to Qatar, but it was obvious to us that wouldn’t be happening – there’s literally a war going on.
Nathan Silver, and Elana Phillips, both 23, were travelling home from Sri Lanka
‘Five hours later they said we’d be getting off the plane – but there were more than 10 Qatar Airways planes landed there in the small airport and they needed to disembark one aircraft at a time.
‘When we eventually got off, passport control took four hours. We weren’t told much, just that there would be people on the other side to help us.
‘There was a bus, which took us to a five-star Radisson hotel – but our luggage didn’t come off the flight. It was a very nice hotel and all the food was paid for. But we still don’t have our luggage.’
It comes as Brits travelling to and in the Middle East are facing severe disruption to their holidays after thousands of flights have been cancelled amid a wave of violence in the region.
At least 200,000 Brits are currently estimated to be in the Gulf as air spaces remain closed amid Iran’s suicide drone blitz.
Thousands of flights to many major hubs across the region have been cancelled or suspended.
It follows US and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend, which were met with missile attacks from Iran across the region.
Currently, the FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Qatar.
Nathan added: ‘We had zero communication from Qatar Airways.
‘We arrived Saturday night late. On Sunday, hotel staff passed on information there was a flight that night to Doha.
‘But we worried about going back to Doha – we felt safe in Oman.
‘There was no suggestion of a way of getting out without going back to Doha. The only update from the airline was that they would get us to Doha, not how they would get us back home to London. And not when this would be.
‘We don’t want to go to Doha where there are bombs dropping.
‘So we booked an Oman Air flight for this Thursday to Amsterdam for £1,300 each. We finally realised that no one is coming to help us.’
Elana added: ‘The main point for us is yes, we’re somewhere safe. But we’ve been told we need to fly to somewhere unsafe in order to get home. And we’re stranded.’
The pair are still stuck in Oman, and are hoping to fly home this week via Amsterdam.
Nathan and Elana have been forced to buy extortionate flights in order to get home
The pair had been travelling together when the situation in the Middle East unfolded
Nathan explained: ‘One girl in our hotel booked a flight to Munich with Oman Air – but when she went to take it, it was overbooked. We’re worried that will happen to us.
‘Qatar Airways has said it will refund us for the cancelled flight home if we don’t take it.
‘We’ve heard nothing from the UK government – although other travellers from Greece and Italy have apparently been told planes will be sent for them.
‘When we contacted the UK embassy, we were just told to sign up for news alerts.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Qatar Airways for comment.
According to the latest information from the airline, Qatar Airways flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.
Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace.
Passengers are advised to monitor the latest flight information via qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile app.
