A Qatar Airways jetliner landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday, completing the first direct flight from Doha to Riyadh since the kingdom’s boycott of the tiny, energy-rich state in 2017.
The resumption of direct flights came after regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia reopened its borders and airspace with Qatar last week, paving the way for a broader rapprochement.
At an annual Gulf summit meeting in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, representatives of the four boycotting countries signed a pledge to resolve the bitter dispute that has fragmented the typically clubby Gulf Cooperation Council and troubled America’s foreign policy in the region, including its efforts to isolate Iran.
Qatar Airways announced it would restart daily service to the capital of Riyadh, four weekly flights to the Red Sea city of Jeddah and daily flights to the eastern city of Damman using wide-body aircraft.
Saudi Airlines was also set to fly to Doha later Monday.
