Qatar resumes flights to Saudi Arabia after dispute ends

Qatar’s national carrier resumed flights to Saudi Arabia on Monday, after a deal this month ended a regional dispute that erupted more than three years ago.

Qatar Airways said the first flight left Doha on Monday as the airline resumes daily flights to Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.

Flights will resume this week to Jeddah and Dammam cities, it added.

Saudi Arabia’s national carrier is also resuming operations to Doha on Monday, the kingdom’s al-Ekhbariya TV reported.

Earlier, three Gulf countries Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain,  as well as Egypt, signed a declaration with Qatar ending a rift that lasted for three-and-a-half years.

In June 2017, the quartet severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting Islamist militant groups, an accusation that Doha denies.

The two countries also reopened a major border crossing over the weekend.

Kuwait and the United States had been mediating for reconciliation.