From Doha To Desert Drive To Visa Wait To Chennai Touchdown: Indian Man's 55-Hour War Escape

Last Updated:March 12, 2026, 15:51 IST

Instead of waiting indefinitely for flights to resume, this Indian traveller undertook a risky road journey across the desert into Saudi Arabia before finally returning to India.

Escalating tensions in West Asia following Iran’s sudden attacks on US military bases in Gulf countries triggered anxiety among millions of Indians living across the Middle-East region. As uncertainty gripped the skies and airports, the story of an Indian traveller’s dramatic 55-hour journey back home gained traction on social media.

Varun Krishnan, a resident of Chennai, found himself stranded in Qatar amid the unfolding Middle-East crisis. Instead of waiting indefinitely for flights to resume, he undertook a risky road journey across the desert into Saudi Arabia before finally returning to India.

Krishnan had left Chennai for Barcelona, Spain, on February 28 with a connecting flight through Doha. According to him, the journey was routine until the aircraft approached Iraqi airspace. At that point, the pilot announced that Iraq had closed its airspace due to the escalating conflict, forcing the plane to turn back to Doha.

Speaking about the tense situation after landing, Krishnan said passengers began receiving emergency alerts on their phones along with news of explosions across the region. For a while, passengers were not even allowed to disembark from the aircraft. Later, the airline arranged accommodation in a hotel in Doha, but the atmosphere remained tense as reports of blasts continued to emerge.

Krishnan said he remained stuck in the hotel for nearly 5-6 days, with no clarity on when flights would resume. With the airport also considered unsafe amid the Iranian attacks, uncertainty continued to grow among stranded travellers.

“One night I even heard explosions near the hotel. That was when I decided it wasn’t safe to stay in Qatar any longer," he said.

With flights uncertain, Krishnan began looking for alternatives. The only land route out of Qatar was through Saudi Arabia, prompting him and a few other Indian travellers to plan a road journey across the border.

Krishnan and four other passengers hired a car and left Doha, eventually reaching the Salwa border crossing, the main land border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. However, another hurdle awaited them, obtaining a Saudi visa.

Krishnan said he had applied online for a visa, but the process remained stuck. At the border, he showed officials his valid American and Schengen visas, which helped him secure a visa on arrival. After multiple security checks and passport formalities, he was finally allowed to enter Saudi Arabia.

Even the journey across the border was complicated. Krishnan said they had to change three different vehicles, as not all cars were permitted to travel the entire route.

Once inside Saudi Arabia, he travelled to Riyadh, where he spent the night before taking a domestic flight to Jeddah. From there, he managed to secure a seat on a flight to India. Nearly 55 hours after beginning the journey out of Qatar, Krishnan finally reached home safely.

His story reflects a wider disruption unfolding across the Gulf region. Rising tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States have forced authorities to shut airspace in several parts of West Asia, leaving thousands of travellers stranded at major transit hubs such as Doha and Dubai.

Airlines have cancelled or rerouted numerous flights, triggering what aviation observers describe as one of the biggest air travel disruptions in the Middle East since the Covid-19 pandemic.

With flights limited and demand soaring, many stranded passengers have been forced to improvise, undertaking long road journeys, seeking emergency visas and travelling through multiple countries to reach their destinations.

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