06-05-2017, 01:39 PM
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Yemen and the Maldives have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates are suspending all flights to and from Doha, starting from Tuesday morning. Both carriers operate four daily return flights to Doha.
Budget carriers FlyDubai and Air Arabia are also cancelling routes to Doha, with other airlines, including Bahrain's Gulf Air and Egyptair expected to follow suit.
It comes after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt all said they would stop flights in and out of Qatar, and close their airspace to the country's airline, Qatar Airways.
And it is Qatar's flag carrier that risks being the biggest loser. Its flights to places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Cairo will stop. That is dozens of flights a day.
Qatar Airways has already said it is cancelling its services to Saudi. It said: "All customers booked on affected flights to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be provided with alternative options, including the option of a full refund on any unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternative Qatar Airways network destination."
But being banned from large chunks of airspace in the region would also cause a major problem, forcing it to alter flight paths, inevitably adding time to some flights.
And as well as cranking up fuel bills, that could annoy passengers.
Qatar Airways' growth has come through positioning itself as a hub airline, connecting Asia and Europe via Doha.
"If a journey to Europe that used to take six hours now takes eight or nine because it has had to change routes, then that makes it far less appealing and passengers might look elsewhere," says Ghanem Nuseibeh, director at advisory firm Cornerstone Global.
British Airways is one of a number of European airlines to fly to Doha. It said on Monday that it will "continue to offer a full schedule.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40156029
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40155829
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates are suspending all flights to and from Doha, starting from Tuesday morning. Both carriers operate four daily return flights to Doha.
Budget carriers FlyDubai and Air Arabia are also cancelling routes to Doha, with other airlines, including Bahrain's Gulf Air and Egyptair expected to follow suit.
It comes after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt all said they would stop flights in and out of Qatar, and close their airspace to the country's airline, Qatar Airways.
And it is Qatar's flag carrier that risks being the biggest loser. Its flights to places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Cairo will stop. That is dozens of flights a day.
Qatar Airways has already said it is cancelling its services to Saudi. It said: "All customers booked on affected flights to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be provided with alternative options, including the option of a full refund on any unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternative Qatar Airways network destination."
But being banned from large chunks of airspace in the region would also cause a major problem, forcing it to alter flight paths, inevitably adding time to some flights.
And as well as cranking up fuel bills, that could annoy passengers.
Qatar Airways' growth has come through positioning itself as a hub airline, connecting Asia and Europe via Doha.
"If a journey to Europe that used to take six hours now takes eight or nine because it has had to change routes, then that makes it far less appealing and passengers might look elsewhere," says Ghanem Nuseibeh, director at advisory firm Cornerstone Global.
British Airways is one of a number of European airlines to fly to Doha. It said on Monday that it will "continue to offer a full schedule.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40156029
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40155829