YU – Gulf flights resume after major disruption

NEWS FLASH

Flights between airports in the former Yugoslavia and the Gulf are resuming today following widespread disruption yesterday evening, which saw Qatar and several other states temporarily close their airspace. Qatar Airways has been most affected following an attempted attack on a US military base in the country. However, the airspace reopened after several hours, and the security situation has been normalised. Due to yesterday’s airspace closure many flights were diverted which is having an impact on traffic today with several services delayed.

Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates also briefly closed its airspace, as did Kuwait and Bahrain.

Disruptions on Monday, June 23

• Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Belgrade – Abu Dhabi (5W7044), diverted back to Belgrade

• Flydubai, Belgrade – Dubai (FZ1746), diverted to Riyadh

• Kuwait Airways, Sarajevo – Kuwait City (KU126), diverted to Cairo

• Qatar Airways, Belgrade – Doha (QR232), diverted to Dammam

• Qatar Airways, Zagreb – Doha (QR218), diverted to Medina

All the diverted flights eventually arrived at their destination.

At the time of publication, all flights scheduled today between the Gulf and the former Yugoslav markets are operating. However, Qatar Airways’ services from Doha to Belgrade, Zagreb and Sarajevo are experiencing significant delays, which are expected to affect return flights as well. The airline recently rescheduled some services to the former Yugoslav markets, mostly by under an hour, to account for extended flight times resulting from the closure of Iranian airspace. Aircraft are now rerouted over Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, adding to overall journey durations.