Qatar Airways to temporarily cut UK flights

Qatar Airways has cut the number of flights to the UK by 8 percent for July as the Doha-based carrier makes way for runway maintenance at Hamad International Airport (HIA).

London Gatwick is hardest hit by the move as it will experience a drop in flights of almost a quarter from 62 to 48, while the busy Doha-London Heathrow route will fall from 292 to 287 flights, according to data supplied by Midas Aviation.

Flights to Manchester Airport will drop over the course of the month by 16 per cent from 111 to 93. 

“As part of this regular network planning process, selected service adjustments have been coordinated in alignment with planned runway maintenance at our hub,” a Qatar Airways statement said.

HIA opened its doors in April 2014 as the Gulf country’s main international gateway and serves as the hub for Qatar Airways, with passenger facilities and significant cargo capacity.

Works are expected to be complete by early July, according to the airline. HIA has been approached for comment.

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A number of other departures are impacted including Johannesburg OR Tambo, Venice Marco Polo, Peshawar and San Francisco.

According to data from Cirium, the number of seats scheduled on flights from Doha to the UK is currently up by 4 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the corresponding period last year.

Ireland has so far seen the biggest increase of more than 40 percent, but seat bookings to Bulgaria (-45.2 percent), Hungary (-47.8 percent), Belgium (-26.2 percent) and France (-15.1 percent) are all down.