Beware if you are flying Qatar Airways in the days ahead: expect delays and/or flight cancellations as the Gulf airline finds itself in the middle of a larger diplomatic row.
The following nations have ceased diplomatic relations with Qatar:
- Bahrain
- Egypt
- Libya
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Yemen
Qatar is blamed for destabilizing the region and propping up terrorist groups, a charge it denies.
Flight Bedlam
The new restrictions are already impacting air traffic. Emirates and Etihad will suspend service to Doha starting tomorrow. Qatar will lose airspace rights over Saudi Arabia and has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia (Qatar serves nine cities in the Kingdom). It is likely Qatar will be forced to cancel service to the other counties above as well and be barred from using airspace.
This creates a major problem for Qatar Airways, reducing its air space corridor likely to flying into and out of Doha in a northerly direction via Iran. It will implicate far more than regional flights, creating a potential bottleneck of traffic that will delay flights and erode operational reliability.
Let’s see how this plays out. If this move is permanent, it could greatly damage the viability of Qatar Airways.
Hotels Too?
The BBC reports that 40% of Qatar’s food is imported from Saudi Arabia. Shut off from many of its regional neighbors, expect food shortages and prices to soar as well. That could mean many of Qatar’s hotels will have to close their doors. More importantly, it could lead to empty grocery shelves for residents of Qatar.
CONCLUSION
I’ll be tracking this story throughout the day as news continues to unfold. This is not the place to discuss the nuances of geopolitics, but be aware that if you are traveling to/from Doha in the coming days your travel plans may be adversely impacted by today’s news.
image: Julian Herzog / Wikimedia Commons
This will be interesting to watch as details continue to unfold. I’d imagine some of the longhaul flights to the US won’t be too heavily impacted from a schedule standpoint, in so much as they sometimes have to use that northern routing anyway, it just adds an hour or so to the flight (at least based on a QR flight last year that took that northern routing). Most of the turn arounds in the US I think have something of a buffer…
US government who enacted electronics ban: see…. I told you….
It’s not armagedddon yet. No one really knows how this will play out but anything other then a restatement of the facts is just sensationalist journalism.
As far as I heard from some actual qataris today they don’t expect this to continue more then a week or two. Either way it will have an impact for Qatar air for sure but doubt that it’s more then a bump….
“Ben O” : are those the same qatari friends of yours who also claim their nation has the most pristine impeccable record of women’s rights ?
Let’s not turn this blog into ideological, political or religious bashing shall we?
Henry LAX: I mean you
Ben O: please don’ take the bait
that’s rich … the entire situation is caused by geopolitical factors and you’re saying we aren’t allowed to discuss geopolitics, while you’re the one who brought up the laptop ban ??!!
a result of the others being annoyed by Al Jazeera telling it like it is ?
yea, because AJ+ has never, ever had a slant, bias or anything of the sort, ammarite? /sarc /smh
well, I find them interesting , and better than cnn or bbc when traveling.
watch some of their special reports and see what you think.
Add Maldives and Libya to the list!
I have not seen this officially confirmed.
This is impacting quite a few American expats who live in the gulf. This is perfectly timed with kids finishing up the school year and families traveling back to the USA for the summer. We fly from Bahrain to Boston via Doha… So this definitely puts a link in our travel plans. Emirates here we come.
British air through London used to be our choice.. But BA has really gone down hill, in my opinion