Saudi Airlines suspends flights to Qatar on diplomatic crisis

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) will halt all flights to Qatar, the Kingdom’s flagship carrier said in a statement on its official Twitter account.

The news came after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt announced that they would cut ties with Qatar, accusing the gas-rich Gulf country of supporting terrorism and further destabilizing the Middle East.

“An official source from Saudi Airlines has announced that all flights to and from Qatar will be suspended as of this morning,” the tweet said.

صرح مصدر مسئول في #الخطوط_السعودية عن إيقاف جميع رحلاتها من وإلى قطر ابتداء من صباح اليوم

— SAUDIA | السعودية (@Saudi_Airlines) June 5, 2017

UAE-based airlines Etihad, Emirates, Air Arabia and Flydubai will also suspend flights to Doha, starting tomorrow.

Meanwhile, General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has banned with immediate effect all Qatari airlines and state aircraft from landing at the Kingdom’s airports.

GACA has also prohibited Saudi-registered commercial and private airlines from operating in Qatar, whether directly or indirectly, as of today.

Also, beginning tomorrow all Qatar’s airlines and state airplanes will be banned from flying over Saudi airspace. If they wish to fly over Saudi skies, they will have to contact GACA within one week from today, in order to know the required procedures.