Stranded in Doha: A Tourist's Wait for a Way Home

For Ksenia, a tourist from St. Petersburg, the departure boards at Doha's Hamad International Airport tell a story of indefinite delay. It is March 9, 2026, and she, like many others, is caught in an aerial standstill with no clear resolution in sight. Qatar's airspace has been closed since February 28 due to regional tensions, stranding passengers and upending travel plans.

In an interview, Ksenia explained the uncertainty. "We're treating a route through Saudi Arabia as an absolute last resort," she said. "Right now, we are waiting for information on flights. We hope that once Qatar Airways has evacuated their own ticketed passengers, they will assist the rest of us and offer tickets on these outgoing flights."

The first glimmer of movement came earlier today when a Qatar Airways flight, the first since the closure, departed Doha for Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. According to the Russian Embassy in Qatar, priority on this and other special corridor flights is being given to those stranded since February 28, including families with children, elderly passengers, and individuals requiring urgent medical care.

For now, Ksenia and countless others remain in a holding pattern, their return home dependent on the slow resumption of specially coordinated evacuation flights through secured air corridors. The wait continues.