Qatar Airways starts rerouting flights through Saudi airspace
Following the re-opening of the Qatar-Saudi airspace, land and sea borders in a historic step toward Gulf reconciliation earlier this week, Qatar Airways (QA) said it has begun rerouting flights through Saudi airspace as of January 7, 2021.
In a tweet, the airline said, “This evening Qatar Airways began to reroute some flights through Saudi airspace with the first scheduled flight expected to be QR 1365, Doha to Johannesburg at 20.45 this evening, 7 January.”
This was the first scheduled QA flight to fly over the Saudi airspace since the blockade went into effect in mid-2017.
This evening #QatarAirways began to reroute some flights through Saudi airspace with the first scheduled flight expected to be QR 1365, Doha to Johannesburg at 20.45 this evening, 7 January. pic.twitter.com/wmU7Qq6Mwd
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) January 7, 2021
"The removal of the ban was effective immediately, meaning just moments later a Qatar Airways A350 bound for South Africa became the first commercial airline flight in over three years to cross into Saudi airspace, reducing flight time and saving fuel," aviation analyst Alex Macheras told Gulf Times.
"The airspace of Saudi Arabia is now open to Qatar without restriction, and we should expect Qatar’s national airline, Qatar Airways, to resume flights to Saudi Arabia very soon," Macheras added.
Earlier this week, leaders of the Gulf States came together at the 41st session of the Supreme Council of the Co-operation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), held in Al-Ula Governorate in Saudi Arabia.
Under the Al-Ula Declaration, the countries agreed to restore relations and pledged to enhance cooperation for the stability and prosperity of the Gulf region.
The agreement between the leaders signals a new phase of unity, brotherhood, and solidarity in the GCC.
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