A Kiwi pair took a seven-hour car trip through the desert to catch an alternative connecting flight to Europe – after their initial travel plans were disrupted by the conflict in the Middle East.
Lyndon Urqhart and his wife Gabrielle were on their way to a business conference in Germany with a three-day stopover in Doha, Qatar when missiles began being intercepted in the skies.
“That’s when it really kicked in… There was some quite loud booms,” he said.
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After days of waiting – with the help of three different drivers – Urqhart and his wife decided to travel by car from Doha to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in the hopes of securing a new ticket.
Urqhart told 1News he was not sure if the trip would pay off – but what followed was a “wicked adventure” that proved successful.
“We just talked to the people at reception. They organised some transport to get us from Doha to Riyadh.
On arrival at the ticket desk in Riyadh, Urqhart said he expected to be “let down a little bit” and “have to find some accommodation”.
But when he asked for a ticket “anywhere” that he could to resume his intended journey – he was surprised at the response.
“We managed to get a flight, which we’re pretty elated about, that goes to Istanbul and then through to Vienna.”
Urqhart said when he arrives in Vienna, he will catch a train to the business conference in Cologne, before heading to back to Austria for a holiday.
Refund process
Urqhart said Qatar Airways assured himm he would get a refund for the return tickets from Doha to Cologne.
He described the process as "quite good". Although the new journey has added a slight extra cost, it provided "an experience we wouldn't normally get".
'Friendly' but 'pretty tense' at times
Before he had departed Doha, Urqhart said it was “pretty tense” when missiles were being shot down, but suggested afterwards, things returned somewhat to normal.
“I know this sounds a bit strange but – with the exception of the missiles going off – when they're not going off, you feel really safe.
"Then you'll get a strike for like half an hour or an hour, and you get pretty tense again as the building moves and different things like that.
“But then, when it dies down, the staff come out, everyone is really friendly… you wouldn’t even really think much is going on, but then an airstrike will start, so you don’t really get much sleep.”
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