Thailand holiday via Doha in May, would you still pay balance?

[curious79]

We have paid a significant deposit for flights to Thailand in late May and have the rest to pay in the coming week. However we transit via Doha - flying with Qatar Airways. I'm really torn - do we ride it out and hope things improve? or do we kick this into the long grass, maybe accept a loss. People who have these holidays booked - are they happening? or is it depending on the day or week?

Can you still go on holiday but fly by another route?

I can shift the deposit onto another flight that e.g. goes direct, but not without incurring a massive increase in price overall (think doubling) because of how flights have leapt up in cost.

I’m in the same position, also flying end of May.
did you book via a TA?

we have paid the balance, if they cancel then we get afull
refund in which case we have a plan b for a Europe alternative holiday. If things settle then we will still go.

Qatar Airlines have been more conservative about running flights than emirates, their website says you can cancel flights up to 16 June free of charge.

you shouldn’t need to take a financial hit at all.

Is it just the flight or do you have hotels/package booked?

Is it a package? If so then it’s protected if the flights don’t fly. If it’s independent I’d be tempted to shift the dates if possible

It's just the flights but booked through an agent and ATOL protected
The agent hasn't said we could cancel at all so interesting @BamberGirl what you say re the website

Are you happy to travel if things do settle?
I guess you need to decide if you do want to go still…if so then pay and wait it out. If not then I’d contact the agent and push for a refund based on the airlines website.

i wasn’t sure what to do a couple of weeks ago, but came up with a plan b and then feel happier waiting it out.
our TA (trailfinders), said that a cancellation would likely be 3 weeks ish before travel. Ours is hotels too, I looked at changing airline too, next cheapest was Turkish Airlines, £200 extra per person.
there’s four of us so I decided against this.

Foreign Office advice is also don’t travel so I think if that remains the same your agent will cancel

I think have a chat with the agent before paying balance

I would cancel if I were you and find an alternative. If not, if you paid on your credit card, claim it back.
But check the Qatar website and see what they say. This is one reason I'd always book direct with the airline rather than any third party - Qatar might be saying one thing but not guarantees that the third party will implement it.

Qatar website re rebooking:
Yes. If your original flight was cancelled, or if you were confirmed to travel between 28 February 2026 and 15 June 2026, but your trip was disrupted, you may be eligible to rebook your flight to an alternate destination, subject to these conditions:
The new travel date can be up to 31 October 2026 in the same booking class (as originally booked) when rebooking on flights operated by Qatar Airways
You can pay additional costs resulting from the changes to your travel from the original point of departure/arrival such as train, bus, car, hotel, etc.

Update…travel agent has just called…Qatar have cancelled the flights, they have rebooked me onto Turkish Airlines at no cost which is excellent.

Therefore I’d say pay your balance and you will be
cancelled free of charge or offered alternative, likely soon.

Our Qatar app had been updated with our flight “cancelled” but we had no notification at all. So if you check directly you might find your flight has already been cancelled

We are in a similar situation. We are due to fly 23rd May with Etihad to Maldives. I really don’t want to cancel the holiday (or take a refund) so been asking various AI tools on how to proceed. The travel agent is ATOL but not ABTA so again similar to you, but we do have rights and a certain level of protection. We are entitled to a full refund, or alternative flights, regardless of whether the airline still continues to fly as it is against FCDO advice and our insurance becomes invalidated.

This is the letter AI drafted for me and I emailed this morning:

Booking Reference: xxxxxxx (see attached invoice)

Dear xxxxxxxx,

I am writing regarding my upcoming holiday booking, which is now approximately six weeks away. I understand that the current travel itinerary includes a transit through Abu Dhabi. However, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has issued advice against travel involving this route.

This advisory has already been in place for the past six weeks and, based on current circumstances, it appears highly likely that it will still be in place at the time of travel (23rd May). As a result, proceeding with the current itinerary would not be appropriate.

In addition, my travel insurance would be invalidated if I were to travel against FCDO advice, which places me in an unacceptable position.

Given this situation, I would like to understand what arrangements you intend to make to provide an alternative flight that avoids transit through Abu Dhabi and complies with current travel guidance.

Please note that the full balance for this booking is due on 15 April. In light of the FCDO advisory and under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, I understand that you are required to offer a suitable alternative where the original arrangements are significantly affected.

I have attempted to contact your team by phone on several occasions but have been unable to reach anyone or receive clear assistance. As this matter is time-sensitive, I would appreciate a prompt written response outlining your proposed solution.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Kind Regards,
Mrs PackageDetected

We’re also flying to Thailand in May, and were originally booked with Qatar Airways via Doha. Our flight were cancelled last week - were rebooked to fly via Bangkok with Thai Airways. Cost a little bit more but not astronomical!

Think we’re going to chance it and hope the orange buffoon doesn’t escalate things again

Do you have travel insurance? I might be wrong but if you pay to go and then are not allowed to then you should be refunded either from the original source or through insurance? But if you haven’t paid, you loose your deposit and are not covered?

@curious79did you contact your travel agent?
Fingers crossed that you will be able to go!

@curious79Any update?
our flights were cancelled but then the TA had to rebook us onto alternatives at no cost to us so we will be going.
hope you have had the same.
very glad that I used a travel agent, I don’t normally but wanted the holiday protection and that decision has definitely paid off.

By the way, if you do transit through doha, your travel insurance won't cover it due to FCDO advice. You can get emergency bridging insurance to cover you. I don't know how much it costs so I don't know if it is worth it just for the transit, but it is worth looking into if needed.

Depends on your personal risk acceptance. I flew back from Thailand last week via Abu Dhabi, flight was completely full, including lots of young families

I don’t think it’s an option to transit via Doha at the moment for Uk to Thailand as Qatar airlines are cancelling flights.
we’re now flying via Istanbul so no insurance issues, thanks!