Qatar has announced a partial reopening of its airspace after shutting it down following escalating tensions triggered by joint military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran.
The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority said the airspace would reopen with limited operations through designated contingency routes, allowing only a restricted number of flights.
According to the authority, the temporary measure is aimed at facilitating passenger evacuation and essential cargo operations.
The Gulf state had earlier closed its airspace to all air traffic at the start of a retaliatory campaign involving Iranian missile and drone attacks following the US-Israeli strikes.
The conflict has caused significant disruption to aviation across the Middle East and affected travellers who were headed to the region.
In a statement, Qatar’s aviation authority said the partial reopening would be carried out with “limited operational capacity,” while Hamad International Airport confirmed that only evacuation flights for stranded passengers and cargo operations would be permitted during the initial phase.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s defence ministry disclosed that the country was targeted by several Iranian drones amid the escalating conflict.
Authorities said most of the drones were intercepted by the military, while one struck an uninhabited area without causing casualties.
The crisis has heightened security concerns across the Gulf region, where several countries previously closed their airspace and suspended flights due to fears of further attacks linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
