Newlyweds stuck in Doha on return from honeymoon

Newlyweds travelling back from their honeymoon are among thousands who have been left stranded in the Middle East due to the US-Israel war with Iran.

Darren and Natalie Chetkowski from Yateley, Hampshire, landed at the Hamad International Airport in Doha on Saturday on their way back from the Maldives.

They were expecting to catch connecting flights to Heathrow, however these were soon cancelled.

The couple said they are growing increasingly concerned that people stuck in Doha are "not being well informed". The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it is working 24/7 to ensure British nationals can return as swiftly and safely as possible.

When the pair was notified that their flights to Heathrow had been cancelled, they decided to spend the night at the airport.

However, they were soon woken up by security informing them they needed to leave.

Darren said: "There was a bit of a panic.

"Everyone was really stressed, but then it took us four-and-a-half hours to get from the security gate to the bus, so everybody was squashed in.

"It was absolutely nuts."

They were then taken to a hotel, which is where they have been staying ever since.

Darren said: "They've looked after us really well."

"It's just, you don't really know what's going on."

During their first night at the hotel, Darren said he was woken up by "four loud bangs".

He said: "They literally made me jump out of bed.

"The other night we got woke up at about 01:30 and moved all of our duvet towards the hotel door."

Natalie added: "We both leapt out of bed... every noise you're listening for, even people now slamming the hotel doors, you're jumping out of your skin.

"It puts you on edge massively."

The newlyweds do not know when they will be able to fly home.

Natalie said: "We were getting daily updates, but that's now changed this morning (Wednesday) to wait another couple of days, so we know we're here until probably at least then, unless the government can give us any more information that we haven't seen or heard."

The FCDO said it is working to ensure British nationals can return as swiftly and safely as possible.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday: "We will lay on additional charter flights in the coming days. British Airways is putting on daily flights from Oman.

"And we will keep working with all our partners to increase the speed and capacity of this airlift."

The newlyweds, who lived in Berkshire for years before moving to Hampshire, have children at home who are being looked after by family members.

Natalie added: "It worries me that we just don't know.

"We have no idea when we're going to get home, and that is a worry. Or are we going to get home?

"We obviously realise it has to be safe, and we're all for that, but it's just really worrying that we can't even say to the kids."

Darren said: "Obviously things are going on behind the scenes, but I feel like we're being, not forgotten about, but we're not being well informed... we need to know what's going on."

Natalie added: "We've got a lovely hotel room, they're (the Doha government) paying for our food and our accommodation, so for that, we can't thank them enough and they're keeping us safe from all the missiles that we're hearing at the moment."