Northwestern University in Qatar will conduct its first optional assisted bus departure for eligible community members to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday morning, according to a Monday NU-Q community-wide email from NU-Q’s Health, Safety, Security and Environment Director Michael McDonough.
“We are coordinating voluntary assisted bus departures in partnership with VCUarts Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar, and Global Rescue for eligible NU-Q community members who wish to travel from Doha to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” McDonough wrote in the email.
On Saturday, Feb. 28, NU-Q and national authorities issued shelter-in-place orders and moved to remote operations following Iranian retaliatory missile strikes in Qatar and throughout the Gulf Arab States. The strikes occurred after the United States and Israel conducted a joint-military operation in Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, Al Jazeera reported.
As the strikes continue, some NU-Q community members expressed interest in leaving the country through a community check-in form.
NU-Q faculty, staff, international students, spouses and dependents are eligible to board buses traveling from Education City, where the NU-Q campus is located, to a hotel near the airport in Riyadh, McDonough wrote. From that point, travelers are responsible for scheduling and financing their departure flights, he added.
“Domestic staff under personal sponsorship” will not be eligible for assisted departure, McDonough wrote in the email.
The bus ride to Riyadh will take approximately 12 hours, according to McDonough.
Community members also have the option to take a “limited commercial flight” through Qatar Airways at Hamad International Airport, McDonough wrote in the email. However, NU would not be responsible for coordinating these travel arrangements, McDonough wrote.
“Availability is extremely limited and may change without notice, and the university cannot reserve or guarantee seats,” McDonough wrote.
On Sunday, Qatar Airways announced they would be offering repatriation and limited commercial flights arriving to and departing from Qatar.
Community members wanting to choose the flight option were told in the email they could contact Darwish Travel representative Renalyn Gonzales.
“Any arrangements made through Darwish Travel or Qatar Airways are private transactions between the traveler, the travel agent, and the airline,” McDonough wrote in a disclaimer in the email.
Qatari airspace remains closed at the time of this article’s publication.
Email: [email protected]
X: @Summer_Huu
Related Stories:
— Qatar Foundation denies influencing NU decisions after Congressional hearing
