First Qatari flight arrives in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh from Doha

A Qatar Airways plane arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh from Doha on Monday, the first commercial flight between the two countries in three and a half years.

The move comes after the Kingdom and Qatar agreed to restore diplomatic and trade ties following a more than three-year dispute.

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The Qatar Airways flight took off from Doha at 10:45 a.m. GMT and touched down at 12:10 p.m. GMT, according to the airline’s timetable.

An AFP video showed passengers lining up in front of a check-in counter at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport ahead of the historic flight.

Qatar Airways had said earlier this week that it would begin resuming flights to Riyadh on Monday, Jeddah on Jan. 14, and Dammam on Jan. 16.

Last week, the leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) signed the AlUla declaration at the conclusion of the 41st Gulf summit, ending the dispute with Qatar and restoring full ties with it.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, had severed diplomatic, trade and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017over Doha’s support of terrorism.

Read more:

Qatar and Saudi Arabia to resume direct flights from Jan. 11

First Qatari vehicle enters Saudi Arabia after reopening of Salwa border

Saudi Arabia-Qatar relations: Timeline of significant events in the Gulf crisis