Bahrain, UAE reopen airspace to Qatari flights

ISTANBUL

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reopened airspace to Qatar as of Monday for the first time since 2017, following an agreement to heal their rift.

In a statement issued late Sunday, Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications said Qatar-registered flights will be allowed to cross through the country’s airspace.

The Director General of the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority, Saif Mohammed Al-Suwaidi, also said previous measures that prevented Qatari aircraft from using the Gulf state’s airspace have been cancelled.

He confirmed that a Qatari flight arriving from Australia's Melbourne crossed over the UAE airspace en route to Doha.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt signed a reconciliation deal with Qatar during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in the Saudi city of al-Ula.

The agreement signaled an end to a Saudi-led blockade imposed on Qatar since 2017 on accusations of supporting terrorist group, a claim vehemently denied by Doha.

Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara

ISTANBUL

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reopened airspace to Qatar as of Monday for the first time since 2017, following an agreement to heal their rift.

In a statement issued late Sunday, Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications said Qatar-registered flights will be allowed to cross through the country’s airspace.

He confirmed that a Qatari flight arriving from Australia's Melbourne crossed over the UAE airspace en route to Doha.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt signed a reconciliation deal with Qatar during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in the Saudi city of al-Ula.

The agreement signaled an end to a Saudi-led blockade imposed on Qatar since 2017 on accusations of supporting terrorist group, a claim vehemently denied by Doha.

Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara