Sixteen Queen's University students and their professor are safely home in Canada after an ordeal that began as a biodiversity field study in Sri Lanka and turned into an unexpected week-plus stranded in a Doha hotel as conflict escalated across the Middle East.
The group, led by biology Professor Stephen Lougheed: had completed their academic work and were in the air heading home on February 28 when everything changed. As their flight approached Iranian airspace, it was diverted. The reason: Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran had begun, and the regional airspace was no longer safe.
Stranded in Qatar
Their plane landed in Doha, Qatar, where the group was put up in a hotel. But Qatar's own airspace was shut down in the chaos, trapping them indefinitely. For more than a week, the students and their professor waited, unsure when they'd be able to get home.
The Canadian government stepped in to help arrange transportation, eventually moving the group from Doha to Saudi Arabia, where commercial flights were available. They landed in Toronto on the night of March 9, with many reuniting with their families before making the final leg back to Kingston.
Queen's University confirmed it is providing counseling and support to the students as they process what was, by any measure, a deeply stressful experience.
A Professor Who Stepped Up
Professor Lougheed received particular praise for his leadership during the ordeal. The university said he "went above and beyond his role as supervisor" in showing leadership and support to his students throughout the episode.
Lougheed himself was philosophical about the experience. "It's an odd once-in-a-lifetime experience to have to be sort of embedded within a regional conflict," he said.
Ottawa's Connection
Queen's University in Kingston is home to many students from the Ottawa region, and the university is one of the major post-secondary institutions serving Eastern Ontario. For Ottawa families with kids at Queen's, this story will resonate. It's a reminder of how quickly international travel situations can escalate, and how important it is for universities and government to have rapid-response protocols in place.
Between March 4 and 8 alone, more than 4,300 Canadians and permanent residents were evacuated from the Middle East amid the escalating situation. The Queen's group was among the fortunate ones to make it home safely.
Source: CBC Ottawa
