Cancelled Gulf flights leave Brit tourists scrambling for route home from Goa

Panaji: For hundreds of British tourists in Goa, their holiday has turned into a logistical nightmare.

With Gulf airspace closed and flights disrupted, many tourists are scrambling for return tickets, medication and visa extensions.

With unresponsive airlines, they are plotting convoluted routes home through Central Asia and Europe.

Free Independent Travellers (FITs) who booked their return through Gulf carriers such as Qatar Airways, Gulf Air and Oman Air have tried reaching out to the UK Foreign Office for help in finding a way home.

Catherine Frost’s situation captures the crisis at its most acute. Her parents are stranded in Candolim, with their Indian visas close to expiring after a four-week holiday. Two of their flights were cancelled, and her father, a Type 1 diabetic, is running dangerously low on insulin. Their visa extension application is still under process.

“We spoke to the Foreign Office but they’re saying it’s Qatar Airways’ responsibility,” Frost wrote on a forum while seeking help to find a way out for her parents.

The UK has consistently ranked among the top three sources of foreign tourists to Goa. Estimates suggest that between 24,000 and 30,000 British nationals visit the state annually, many travelling on connecting flights through hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Bahrain.

In 2025, Goa received 189 charter flights carrying 40,336 foreign tourists, largely from Russia and UK.

The tourism department says country-wise data from 2023 onwards is unavailable, as agencies now submit only consolidated international arrival figures.

Sue Hardiker and three companions had booked a flight to Manchester on March 1, but it was cancelled. The replacement tickets were rebooked for only three of the four passengers. A fourth ticket was issued for Sunday but was later cancelled. For those who left, the journey home was not easy.

Niki Savage and her partner were scheduled to fly back to Spain with Qatar Airways on March 6. After finally managing to secure a refund, the couple pieced together an improvised itinerary.

“We flew to Delhi, then to Istanbul via Tashkent in Uzbekistan with Centrum Air, and then from Istanbul to Malaga with Turkish Airlines,” she said.

Several stranded tourists are managing chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease after packing only enough medication for a four-week holiday.

Lynda Hester, who has Type 1 diabetes, said local pharmacies have been helpful. “I’ve been to the nearest chemist and he’s getting me insulin for pick-up, quicker than ordering at home,” she said.

Debbie Rhodes from Leeds said medicines were delivered to her hotel within a week. With her husband running out of heart medication, she had booked an Air India flight through Mumbai after Gulf Air cancelled their flight due the crisis.