First Qatar-Egypt flight takes off after three-and-a half year

After normalising their ties in a landmark agreement on January 5, Qatar and Egypt resumed air travel on Monday with the first flight taking off from Doha after more than three years, reported AFP.

The two Arab countries finally made life easier for thousands of Egyptian residents of the Gulf nation.

In June 2017, Egypt joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar, accusing it of being too close to Iran and of backing Islamic extremist groups. Qatar has always denied the charges.

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All the four countries agreed to lift restrictions from Qatar at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit after a flurry of diplomatic activity by outgoing US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Almost 300,000 Egyptians call Qatar home, according to statistics quoted by AFP, but many were unable to travel home during the crisis.

In May 2020, frustrated Egyptians protested outside the compound housing Egypt’s then-empty embassy.

Following their agitation, 18 repatriation flights operated via neutral Oman to comply with Cairo’s ban on direct air traffic.

Egyptians in Qatar work in a number of sectors, including education, healthcare and engineering.

Thousands of Qatar’s majority-expatriate workforce, however, have lost their jobs as a result of a downturn caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

A week ago, the first commercial flight between Qatar and Saudi Arabia in three and a half years, a Qatar Airways service to Riyadh, took off from Doha airport around 1100 GMT.