Qatar-Saudi direct flights resume amid detente

Daily service from Qatar Airways

DUBAI, Jan 11, (AP): A Qatar Airways jetliner landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday, completing the first direct flight from Doha to Riyadh since the kingdom’s boycott of the tiny, energy-rich state in 2017.

Qatari Khaled, 12, is hugged by his aunt as he arrives on the first Qatar Airways plane in three years to land at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Jan 11. Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, ended A three-year-old dispute with Qatar following a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in AlUla last week. (AP)

The resumption of direct flights came after regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia reopened its borders and airspace with Qatar last week, paving the way for a rapprochement. At an annual Gulf summit meeting in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, representatives of the four boycotting countries signed a pledge to resolve the bitter dispute that has fragmented the typically clubby Gulf Cooperation Council and troubled America’s foreign policy in the region, including its efforts to isolate Iran. Qatar Airways announced it would restart daily service to the capital of Riyadh, four weekly flights to the Red Sea city of Jeddah and daily flights to the eastern city of Damman using wide-body aircraft like the Airbus A350-1000 that landed Monday.

Saudi Airlines also flew to Doha later in the day. “We also look forward to resuming a strong relationship with our trade and cargo partners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the major airports in the country,” the Qatar state airline said. Bahrain’s civil aviation affairs authority joined in saying it would reopen its airspace to Qatar on Monday, following a similar weekend announcement from the United Arab Emirates. Still, travelers are not yet able to book direct flights to Qatar on state-owned Emirati and Bahraini airlines. Egypt, which also participated in the yearslong boycott, has not publicly elaborated on its restoration of ties with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, seeking to unify Arab ranks and position itself as peacemaker ahead of the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, led the push to end the spat with the backing of the United States and regional mediator Kuwait. On Saturday, the first Qatari vehicles passed through the country’s only land crossing with Saudi Arabia, which the state relied on for the import of dairy products, construction materials and other goods before the border slammed shut in 2017. Antivirus restrictions and mandated quarantines will slow the traffic during the coming months, and it remains uncertain whether deep-rooted mistrust will hinder the swift resumption of weekend getaways, a common pastime before the boycott. Saudi state-run Ekhbariya TV broadcast what appeared to be carefully orchestrated footage of Qatari drivers receiving warm welcomes at the Abu Samra-Salwa desert crossing over the weekend.

The post Qatar-Saudi direct flights resume amid detente appeared first on ARAB TIMES – KUWAIT NEWS.

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