Missiles Over Qatar: For Indians, a Night of Panic in Doha; Questions Over Flight Delays

Jalandhar: The Indian expat community in Qatar, which is one of the major workforces in the natural gas-rich country suffered a night of panic following Iran’s attack on the US military base of Al-Udeid on Monday, June 23.

Explosions were heard across Doha while videos of missiles being launched towards the Al-Udeid air base, the largest US military base in the West Asia were shared across Qatar. Major news outlets also published similar videos.

There are 836,784 Indians, including persons of Indian origin, in Qatar, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Indians whom The Wire spoke to said that they rushed to the ground floor from their flats, offices, and commercial establishments immediately as it became clear that missiles had been launched.

“At around 8 pm (Qatar time), we heard explosions. Before we could understand anything or speak to each other, everybody started rushing out of their flats. We heard people shouting in panic and rushed from our flat situated on the fourth floor to the ground floor and to the parks to save ourselves. People remained glued to their mobile phones for major updates and spoke to their loved ones," said a logistics manager at a construction company who requested not to be named. The logistics manager is originally from Punjab.

The manager's house, Al Ghanim was situated 30 kilometres from the Al-Udeid air base. “While there was no immediate blackout or suspension of internet services, people spent the entire night in fear of escalation of war in this region. We could see the missiles clearly in the sky. The Qatar police too remained on high alert and were roaming the highways, alerting people to stay safe," he added.

Labourers at construction sites, who begin work after 3.30 pm in Qatar because of heat stress as per the orders of the Ministry of Labour in summers, were also immediately sent back home by their employers.

A group of Indian and Nepali workers employed at various commercial establishments at the Doha city centre, which houses business centres, homes and shopping malls also spoke of a night of anxiety.

A man from Kerala, working at the Lusail International Circuit – a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha – also told The Wire, “People had either returned home from work or were going back home when they sighted missiles, forcing them to huddle wherever they could find safe space. Initially nobody understood anything and then it was commotion everywhere.”

Many Indians primarily from Punjab, Kashmir, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh work as engineers, project managers, and labourers in the construction, oil and natural gas projects and steel plants in Qatar.

Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, Iran, Nepal, Azerbaijan, Turkey, UK, Canada, and the US also have citizens living and working in Qatar in significant numbers.

Flights

Meanwhile, the attack on Al-Udeid air base also affected flight operations to Qatar including the connecting flights to other countries via Qatar. An Air India flight to Qatar which took off at around 9.30 pm from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi on June 23 was re-routed to Delhi following the missile attack.

Similarly, other scheduled flights to Qatar from Delhi which were initially delayed were later cancelled following Iran’s missile attack on Al-Udeid air base leaving passengers stranded at the airport for the entire night.

“My flight was at 4 am on June 24, 2025 from IGI Delhi but was cancelled within seconds of Iran’s attack on the US air base in Qatar. There was total chaos at the airport. People were left scrambling for flight refunds and updates about later flights to Qatar," Jagtar Singh, who was yet to get information about the next flight, told The Wire.

The Embassy of India at Doha in its post on X in the wee hours of June 24, 2025 shared:

"Qatar Airways confirms reinstatement of flights as airspace reopens in the State of Qatar. Our focus at this time is to help our passengers return home or reach their onward journey safely and smoothly. We've deployed extra ground staff at Hamad International Airport to support you as we resume operations. Please check qatarairways.com or our app before you travel."

However, till the filing of this report on June 24, no flight bookings were possible. Stuck at the airport, most of the passengers were either still waiting at the airport for flight operations to resume or had moved to nearby hotels.

Earlier on the night of June 23, following the missile attack, the Indian Embassy at Doha had issued a statement that the Indian community in Qatar may note that Qatar's Ministry of Interior has affirmed that the security situation in the country is stable and that there is no cause for concern. "Please follow the advice and guidance of local authorities. Our Embassy will open tomorrow for its services as usual," the embassy said on X.

In a statement issued on June 23 night, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association stated that amid Iran’s attack on the US air base, a flight evacuating over 270 Indian students, most of them from Kashmir, from Mashhad airport in Iran to Delhi was also delayed. The flight was originally scheduled to arrive at Delhi Airport at 1 am on June 24.

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