An Indian founder travelling on a Qatar Airways flight to Barcelona witnessed an unexpected diversion after escalating tensions in the Middle East led to the closure of Iraqi airspace.
The passenger, identified as Varun Krishnan, shared a video on X that captures the captain’s announcement about the sudden change in route.
Sharing the clip online, Krishnan wrote: "On a Qatar Airways flight to Barcelona and the captain just came on PA to announce diversion back to Doha as Iraq airspace is closed."
Watch the clip here:
The announcement came as multiple countries across the region imposed airspace restrictions following military escalation involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Middle East tensions disrupt global aviation
{{/usCountry}}The announcement came as multiple countries across the region imposed airspace restrictions following military escalation involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
Middle East tensions disrupt global aviation
{{/usCountry}}The United States and Israel carried out joint operations targeting Iran earlier in the day, striking several strategic locations, including areas near offices associated with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The strikes triggered retaliatory action from Iran, which launched missiles and drones targeting Israel as well as US military bases across parts of the Middle East.
Explosions were reported near American bases in Doha, Manama and Riyadh, prompting authorities in several countries to temporarily shut their airspace as a precautionary measure. The closures created widespread disruption to international aviation routes, particularly those connecting Europe and Asia through Middle Eastern corridors.
Major global carriers began suspending or rerouting flights to avoid conflict zones, leaving thousands of passengers facing delays, diversions and cancellations.
Surge in flight tracking activity crashes website
As travellers and observers rushed online to track aircraft movements, the popular flight tracking platform Flightradar24 experienced technical issues due to an unprecedented surge in traffic.
At around 4:30 pm IST on Saturday, users attempting to access the website encountered a “500 Internal Server Error” message. The platform later clarified the situation in a statement posted on X.
“Visitor numbers have skyrocketed over the past few hours, leading some users to see error messages on Flightradar24. Our servers are up, and we’re adding even more capacity as quickly as possible. If you receive an error message, please try again in one minute,” the company said.