Qatar crisis forces Indians to call off travel plans

A map of Qatar is seen in this picture illustration June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration - RTX3910P

The ongoing crisis around Qatar is forcing Indian travelers to Europe to put their plans on hold. This is after major airlines in the middle east such as Etihad, Emirates, Air Arabia, and Flydubai suspended flights to Doha, a key hub in the Middle East for transit between Europe, America and Asia.  Qatar Airways has also suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia.

Anxious customers are queuing up for cancellation and refunds, leading travel portals told the Economic Times.

A number of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, UAE and Yemen have snapped diplomatic ties with Qatar for its alleged support to Islamist groups. These countries have even cut off land and sea access to Qatar.

For some travel portals like Cleartrip, calls from customers (mostly booked on Qatar Airways) seeking refunds or alternative flight options has increased by nearly 55 percent since June 5.

Etihad stated on its website that customers booked on its flights to and from Doha are being provided alternate options, full refund on unused tickets, and free re-booking to the other nearby Etihad Airways hubs.

However, Manheer Singh Sethi, Co-founder of Delhi-based travel website TravKart.com said the airlines are not particularly helpful in addressing customers concerns.

Subhash Goyal, Founder Chairman of another travel company STIC pointed out that as it is, India has a shortage of seats and those travelers who had booked on Qatar Airways are in a soup. The developments have especially hit the labor traffic in Kerala.

The crisis also does not augur well for the non-Resident Indian (NRI) population in Qatar  at over 6,50,000.

According to Anand Malhotra, Destination Strategist at Travel-Triangle, a lot of Middle Eastern travelers come to India and travel further to destinations like Sri Lanka and Maldives. This segment could also take a hit.