Bahrain, Egypt, UAE & Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. Qatar aircraft ban

[Airbubba]

Originally Posted by CCGE29

Somebody said that QR never fly over Iraq to non-Iraqi destinations, QR400 (DOH-AMM) has just passed over Najaf, Iraq and appears to be following the Iraqi/Saudi border.

You are right, that is definitely something new. Earlier QR400 flights all went over the Kingdom:

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/qr400

[Rwy in Sight]

portmanteau,

Thanks for the answer. It would be interesting the next few days.

[parabellum]

During the Gulf war the route out of Doha was usually south over UAE to AUH thence to southern Iran and Northwards, if West bound and from AUH to Muscat and onwards if East bound, aircraft would follow the reverse of these routes when routing to Doha. Now I would expect straight across the Gulf to the Iranian coast then northwards for Westbound, or to the South and East for East and South destinations, the reverse routing when inbound to Doha, no real problem, domestic traffic will suffer but not the major international routes.

[B772]

I wonder if Qatar are losing pax to their competitors hand over fist.

[fox niner]

Doha-Khatoum took about 6 hours. Routing: eastbound toward Iran, along the coast. Then oman, then puntland/somalia. The only other airline that I know of that has to take these measures in "creative" flightplanning is..... EL AL.

[ExXB]

Originally Posted by B772

I wonder if Qatar are losing pax to their competitors hand over fist.

Well, they have lost ALL of their pax (and cargo) originating or destined to the named countries. True O&D pax should improve as EY/EK/SV/MS (etc.) now out of the Qatar market. On-line connections via DOH to other destinations will be affected if new flight times impact on minimum connecting times.

Anyone have an idea what proportion of QR pax are connections? I'd guess it would be the (vast) majority, but don't know.

[ExXB]

QR press release:

“Qatar Airways operations are running as normal with no disruptions to flights with the exception of those to the four countries Qatar Airways has been restricted to fly to. In response to these restrictions Qatar Airways has arranged for three charter flights departing Jeddah today at 16:00, 22:00, and 23:00 local time, to Muscat in order to assist all Qatar Airways passengers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We encourage all Qatari passengers stranded to make their way to King Abdulaziz International Airport to avail of these three flights today, Tuesday 6 th June. Full details of these charter flights are available on Qatar Airways Travel Alert page.

All effected passengers in Doha on route to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been assisted with alternative onward travel arrangements. At Qatar Airways, our passengers remain our utmost priority and we will continue to ensure they have a seamless journey to their final destinations.”

[The Old Fat One]

Etihad Press Release

Abu Dhabi state-owned Etihad Airways said all travellers holding Qatari passports are currently prohibited from travelling to or transiting through the United Arab Emirates as part of government instructions.

Expatriates residing in Qatar and in possession of a Qatari residence visa will also not be eligible for visa on arrival in the UAE, Etihad spokesman said in an email.

Al Jeezra is by far and away the best source for updates. Most Western media outlets are:

[x] having a wtf moment
[x] concentrating on domestic events
[x] think its all fake news

Incidentally the UAE ruling family has just pronounced that supporting Qatar, in anyway, in the UAE is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison. So if you are travelling thru any of these places, best keep your gob shut.

Strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form," Gulf News quoted UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi as saying.

Offenders could be punished with a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine of at least 500,000 dirhams ($136,000), Gulf News reported.

[air pig]

Will or how could this affect air ambulance flights operating over, into or out of Qatar. These are usually very short notice flights and prolonged requirement for clearances is sometimes not practicable.

[WHBM]

What is the situation with the US military base at Al Udeid in Qatar ? Are US flights in/out of there affected ? Does Donald Trump understand yet that there is a substantial US base in the country ?

Saudi announced that there was a concession for the Hadj travellers to continue to go to/from Jeddah. How is this being handled ? Are Qatar flights permitted for this ?

For all those who are having to leave, how are they even able to comply with the regulation to go home with all flights cancelled.

[tim1941]

The Iranians must be loving all the extra traffic. They always used to charge for overflights by the Km!

[edi_local]

Originally Posted by The Old Fat One

Incidentally the UAE ruling family has just pronounced that supporting Qatar, in anyway, in the UAE is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison. So if you are travelling thru any of these places, best keep your gob shut.

And yet, according to Al Jazeera anyway, the port in Abu Dhabi has eased restrictions on ships coming to/from Qatari ports...as long as they aren't Qatari registered, operated or owned, so while heavy restrictions remain, there is surely a good amount of foreign ships now able to access Abu Dhabi on their way to/from Qatar which have presumably been blocked for the past 48 hours.

And co-incidentally, while QR are obviously facing big bills rerouting people onto other carriers, presumably any of the other Gulf airlines with passengers going to/from Doha will also be facing big bills getting people to/from there. Any ex-pat workers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, SE Asia booked to travel in the next few days/weeks/months using EK or EY for example will now have to be re-routed onto other carriers, presumably QR in most cases? With all the construction work and domestic workers in the country that's a lot of people who could be disrupted.

[Sober Lark]

in the UAE is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison. So if you are travelling thru any of these places, best keep your gob

Little wonder why the UAE GCM never really worked.

[PashaF]

Well, it is unholy unprofessional to act as prophet of gloom and doom but someone need to do it.

So, ahem...

On Tuesday night Saudis have reportedly given Qatar a 24-hour ultimatum to fulfill a number of conditions they set in response to efforts to mediate between the two Arab states.

According to senior Al Jazeera journalist Faisal Edroos, the demands are:

1. Immediate severance of diplomatic relations with Iran,
2. Expulsion of all members of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas from Qatar,
3. Freezing all bank accounts of Hamas members and refraining from any deal with them,
4. Expulsion of all Muslim Brotherhood members from Qatar,
5. Expulsion of anti-[P]GCC elements,
6. Ending support for ‘terrorist organizations’,
7. Stopping interference in Egyptian affairs,
8. Ceasing the broadcast of the Al Jazeera news channel,
9. Apologizing to all [Persian] Gulf governments for ‘abuses’ by Al Jazeera,
10. Pledging that it (Qatar) will not carry out any actions that contradict the policies of the [P]GCC and adhering to its charter.

And A LOT of rumors among Arabic twitter users that... Military invasion is imminent.


So, it is not unwise to think where to divert and land if all airspace around (Including Iranian) will suddenly became unavailable i must say.

[Airbubba]

And, just to ramp things up a little more:

Wed Jun 7, 2017 | 4:28pm EDT

At least 12 killed in militant attack in Iran, Guards blame Saudi Arabia

By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin | LONDON

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people in a twin assault which Iran's Revolutionary Guards blamed on regional rival Saudi Arabia.

Islamic State claimed responsibility and released a video purporting to show gunmen inside the parliament building. It also threatened more attacks against Iran's majority Shi'ite population, seen by the hardline Sunni militants as "heretics".

At least 12 killed in militant attack in Iran, Guards blame Saudi Arabia | Reuters

[Thaihawk]

One gets the feeling the solids are going to be hitting the fan big time.

[KelvinD]

Lad, you can BS the fans here on PPRuNe but you can't BS the players

First, sorry for delay in replying, I had to undergo some minor surgery which occupied my mind for a while.
I have been gagging to reply to your juvenile posting, particularly in response to your comment: "Something tells me that you've never flown an aircraft in the Middle East."
First flight into the Middle East, 1966 or 51 years ago. Last flight 2015. During that half century period I had 5 years working for Saudi ATC, flying fairly often between airports in the area that you perhaps have not even heard of. The balance of that period was spent working largely with government organisations, Defence, Presidents' Offices, with Kings, Princes and sundry minor Sheikhs etc. Countries involved were all those in what is often known as the Middle East, except Lebanon and Turkey; from Yemen to Iraq and from Oman to Israel and all pointd in between, plus Egypt & Sudan.
So, want to repeat your stupid assertion that I have never flown an aircraft in the M.E.?
To the various others who criticised my posts re flights over Iraq; I got my data from a source that may have been extrapolating rather than producing an accurate fix from , contemporaneous data. So, I could blame the source. I have in fact flown over Baghdad with Qatar; daylight flight in glorious weather. However, that was about 4 years ago.

[Airbubba]

Originally Posted by KelvinD

First, sorry for delay in replying, I had to undergo some minor surgery which occupied my mind for a while.

Hope your recovery goes well, that is more important than anything else we will discuss here.

Originally Posted by KelvinD

So, want to repeat your stupid assertion that I have never flown an aircraft in the M.E.?

OK, I'll bite. So you say you've flown on aircraft in the Middle East. Pilots are indeed a vanishing breed here on the Professional Pilots Rumour Network.

Originally Posted by IBE8720

FYI
QR don't overfly Iraq, so any flight in Iraq airspace is landing in Iraq. Same with Syria, Syrian airspace is Prohibited for our Ops.
With that sort of info, you must be a CNN reporter.

Originally Posted by KelvinD

Really? Explain QR8261 then. Currently (18:47 UK time) just passing NE of Baghdad en route to Liege. That is Liege in Belgium, not Liege Iraq!
Meanwhile, keep an eye on QR246, rapidly approaching the Turkish/Syrian border, just behind QR40. So, not only does that cover Syrian overflights, the projected tracks of both these flights will take them from Syria over Iraq.
So, your info is perhaps defective? Perhaps when you say "Prohibited for our Ops" you really meant to say "for someone's ops".

As you now admit, it was not IBE8720's information that was defective:

Originally Posted by KelvinD

To the various others who criticised my posts re flights over Iraq; I got my data from a source that may have been extrapolating rather than producing an accurate fix from , contemporaneous data. So, I could blame the source.

And, as you admonished us for being skeptical of your faulty assertion of Iraq and Syria overflights by QR:

Originally Posted by KelvinD

So, a tip from an old man; wind your neck in and make sure you know something about the subject before you come up with the amateur insults!

Sorry I called BS but I could tell that you didn't know what you were talking about in this case, IBE8720 did.

[atakacs]

Although not anymore on the radar of MSN I understand that some of the aviation related restrictions have been lifted. Anyone with specifics?

[Airbubba]

Originally Posted by atakacs

Although not anymore on the radar of MSN I understand that some of the aviation related restrictions have been lifted. Anyone with specifics?

Here's the news blurb from a few days ago:

Bahrain, UAE open up airspace for Qatar Airways

By Associated Press August 8

MONTREAL — The world aviation agency says Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to open up some of their airspace to Qatar’s state-owned airline after it was hit with flight restrictions earlier this summer in a diplomatic dispute.

A spokesman for the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization said Tuesday that the flight corridors include existing as well as new “temporary or contingency” routes for Qatar Airways.

Spokesman Anthony Philbin says that since June 5, the aviation organization has been working with various countries in the Middle East to work out access to airspace for Qatar-registered aircraft.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.ffea1ef3197a

Anybody got the actual Notams on the newly opened airspace? I looked but could only find the June stuff like:

A0222/17 NOTAMN
Q) OBBB/QXXXX/IV/NBO/E /000/999/
A) OBBB B) 1706151150 C) PERM
E) REFERENCE AIP SUP 06/2017 STANDARD ROUTES DOCUMENT
ALL AIRCRAFT ENTERING OBBB FIR AT LONOS FOR DESTINATION IN QATAR-
REQUIRED ROUTE IS MODIFIED TO LONOS UL438 KOBOK DCT RASDI UN318 VELAM

ALL AIRCRAFT ENTERING OBBB FIR AT LONOS FOR THE SOUTHERN EMIRATES
FIR - REQUIRED ROUTE IS MODIFIED TO LONOS UP975 GETAL DCT RASDI
UN318 OVONA

ALL AIRCRAFT ENTERING OBBB FIR AT KUVER FOR DESTINATION IN QATAR-
REQUIRED ROUTE IS MODIFIED TO KUVER UT438 KOBOK DCT RASDI UN318 VELAM

ALL AIRCRAFT ENTERING OBBBFIR AT KUVER FOR THE SOUTHERN EMIRATES FIR
- REQUIRED ROUTE IS MODIFIED TO KUVER UT975 GETAL DCT RASDI UN318
OVONA

The EK folks risk fines and prison if they comment on the QR situation so I don't think we will hear much from them:

UAE: Social media users face jail for Qatar sympathy | UAE News | Al Jazeera