05 June, 2017
Qatar Airways said on Monday it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia as a major diplomatic crisis escalated in the Gulf region.
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staffs from Qatar, a gas-rich nation about half the size of New Jersey.
Qatar Airways flies to nine cities in Saudi Arabia.
Several airlines based in the UAE have said they will stop flying between Dubai and Doha from Tuesday, including Emirates, Etihad, FlyDubai, and Air Arabia.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will also suspend its Doha flights on Wednesday.
In a shock move today, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain turned against Qatar, saying it supports terrorism.
There was no immediate Qatari reaction to the announcements, and Qatari officials could not be reached for comment, but it has denied supporting terrorism or Iran in the past.
In a sign that the rift in Qatar's relations with its near neighbours was deepening, one Saudi newspaper reported that members of a prominent Saudi family had demanded that Qatar's state mosque, the Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab Mosque, be renamed.
The airlines' decision comes as Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all cut diplomatic ties Monday to Qatar over its support of Islamist groups and its relations with Iran.
Borders have been closed between the countries and air and sea traffic has been suspended between the peninsular nation and a number of other states.
Simultaneously, the Saudi-led coalition has announced the cancellation of the Qatari participation in the military operation in Yemen citing Doha's support of al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terror groups.
On May 23, Qatar's news agency was reportedly hacked.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in Sydney on Monday that the spat would not effect the fight against Islamist militants and that Washington has encouraged its Gulf allies to resolve their differences.
While on a visit to Riyadh two weeks ago, the US President Donald Trump urged Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalisation, and blamed Iran for instability in the Middle East.
"Such measures are unjustified and are based on baseless and unfounded allegations", the government's foreign ministry said in a statement. In March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar over the rift.
