Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been stranded in Qatar for more than a week due to flight disruptions caused by the ongoing war in West Asia, scrambling to return to Paris ahead of his club’s Champions League round of 16 first leg against Chelsea on Wednesday.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Al-Khelaifi was unable to fly out of Doha as hostilities escalated following the February 28 US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly.
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He was trying to book a flight from Doha on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, the person added. On commercial flights operating with limited capacity, passengers are made to wait until departure before being confirmed for departure. The disruption made even confirmed bookings unreliable and many passengers were not informed of their consent to board until shortly before departure.
Travel chaos spreads throughout the region
The conflict has severely disrupted air travel across the region and stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Airports in the Persian Gulf, which serve as critical transit hubs connecting Europe, Africa and Asia, have been hardest hit as airspace closures force airlines to cancel flights or divert flights to significantly longer routes. Iran’s retaliatory attacks on the Gulf states only deepened the disruption.
Last week, American citizens described growing frustration and fear as they faced airport closures and widespread cancellations across the region, according to the AP. The ripple effects spread far beyond the immediate conflict zone, affecting travelers with no direct connection to the crisis.
However, there are signs that the situation is beginning to ease. The British government confirmed on Tuesday that commercial flights from the United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom were returning to near-normal levels.
About 32 flights operated from Dubai to Britain on Monday, with another 36 scheduled for Tuesday. More than 45,000 UK nationals have returned from the Gulf since the conflict began, helped in part by government-chartered flights from Oman and Dubai.
On the field of PSG, the reigning European champions, host Chelsea at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday in the opening leg of the round of 16, with a return match scheduled for next week in London. Whether Al-Khelaifi will be in the stands remains uncertain.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
March 11, 2026 11:19 AM IST
