Qatar Airways reroutes flights as Saudi Arabia lifts airspace ban

Qatar’s national carrier has started to reroute some of its flights to pass through Saudi Arabia’s airspace, as the Kingdom reopens its air borders with the Gulf state, Al-Arabiya TV has reported.

The first flight to pass through Saudi airspace after the announcement was a Doha-Johannesburg trip on Thursday night.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt had severed relations with the Qatar in June 2017 over terrorism concerns.

But leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council members earlier signed the AlUla declaration at the Gulf summit, effectively restoring diplomatic ties with the country.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf has proposed to open land and sea borders between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Sources at Al-Arabiya also said Egypt will soon open its airspace with Qatar, adding it will ultimately depend on “the fulfillment of Egyptian requirements.”