Emirates, Etihad Airways suspend flights to and from Qatar after diplomatic row

DOHA: As Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain decided to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar and closed their airspaces and seaports to the Gulf country, airlines are in a fix as many passengers are stranded at airports. The recent ban on Qatar has wreaked havoc on airlines as Doha-based Qatar Airways have suspended flights to Saudi Arabia, where the airline provides travel to nine cities. Dubai's Emirates and Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways have suspended flights to and from Qatar starting Tuesday morning. Emirates also made it a point to mention that the airline would operate flights according to normal routine on Monday. Emirates’ last flight will be EK847 Dubai to Doha which will depart at 02:30am on Tuesday. The last flight from Doha to Dubai will depart as EK848 at 3:50am on Tuesday. Airlines of Bahrain and Maldives were, at the time of the ban, unsure of whether they would also join in and suspend flights to and Qatar. Etihad Airways and Emirates both are offering full refunds on unused tickets and free booking to alternate cities to customers booked on flights to and from Doha. UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain all decided to sever ties with Qatar, blaming it for backing militants especially in the Qatif region.