Egypt And UAE Reopen Flight Lines With Qatar

Qatar Airways. (Jan Rosolino/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - After being closed for three and a half years due to the regional crisis. Direct flights to and from Qatar with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are reopening.

This historic flight is marked by Egyptair flying from Doha (Qatar) to Cairo (Egypt), as well as Air Arabia UAE arriving in Qatar from Sharjah. In the evening, the Qatar Airways pesaway also travels to Cairo. The flight, which took place yesterday, marks the end of the regional crisis.

Earlier this January, the four countries signed a declaration at the Gulf summit with Qatar, signaling the end of the blockade. The four have now announced the reopening of their airspace to Qatar, according to Al Jazeera.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt accused Qatar, among other things, of supporting 'terrorism' and of being too close to Iran. They also agreed to cut off economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Hamad International Airport Doha Qatar. (Safwan Mahmud / Unsplash)

Qatar has repeatedly denied these claims and said there was no justification for cutting ties. The blockades were also imposed by the four countries by land, sea and air.

It is known that as many as 300 thousand Egyptians are detained in Qatar. Many of them were unable to make the journey home during the crisis. In May 2020, Egyptians held a demonstration at the Egyptian Embassy in Doha. After the demonstration, 18 repatriation flights were operated via Oman, a neutral country, due to a ban on direct air traffic.

Previously, Saudi Arabia had opened its boundaries with Qatar in advance, both through flights and land borders. This opening took place on 11 January.