Overview
- An anonymous source told the Associated Press that Al-Khelaifi has been unable to leave Doha for more than a week.
- He has been trying to reach Paris for Wednesday’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg against Chelsea, with attempts to fly Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
- Limited commercial capacity has left travelers waiting until just before departure to learn if they are approved to board.
- The wider aviation crunch followed Feb. 28 U.S. and Israeli strikes and Iran’s retaliatory attacks, disrupting routes and stranding large numbers across the region.
- Signs of partial recovery include U.K. officials reporting UAE–U.K. flights returning toward normal and more than 45,000 citizens repatriated, though bottlenecks persist in Doha.