Air travel affected as six Arab countries cut ties with Qatar

MIDDLE EAST. Six Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, with air travel links affected.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Yemen and Libya accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism by backing militant groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda, as well as the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.

Qatar said the decision to cut ties was “unjustified and based on false and baseless claims”.

Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, flydubai and Saudi Arabian Airlines have or will suspend all flights to Qatar, after the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain said they would cut all air, land and sea links with the country.

The diplomatic row is therefore likely have a significant impact on airports in the region. To give some indication, Qatar capital Doha was Dubai International’s second biggest city destination in April, with 290,524 passengers.

The Gulf allies have also closed their airspace to Qatar Airways, which has suspended all its flights to Saudi Arabia.

Many flights to and from Qatar’s Hamad International will be suspended as a result of the diplomatic row, impacting a number of other airports in the region
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