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The lifting of the aviation ban in Egypt allowed Qatari flights to pass through Egyptian airspace, state newspaper Al-Ahram reports.
Egypt reopened its airspace to Qatari flights on Tuesday and will allow flights to resume between the two countries, aviation sources and state media said on Tuesday.
A Qatar Airways plane is due to land in Cairo on Friday, airport officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The lifting of the aviation ban in Egypt allowed Qatari flights to pass through Egyptian airspace and domestic carriers from both countries to submit flight operating schedules for approval, the state newspaper reported. Al-Ahram.
The agreements that will be activated will also allow the transport of goods between the two countries, according to sources from the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Aviation.
Egypt and its Gulf allies – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – imposed an embargo on Qatar in June 2017 over allegations of support for “terrorism”.
Qatar has always denied these allegations.
The blockade ended following a summit in Saudi Arabia last week, where Egypt expressed support for regional reconciliation but halted before announcing concrete steps to end the boycott.
After three and a half years of severing diplomatic and economic ties, the four boycotting countries signed a declaration with Qatar at the annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit last week to end the dispute.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have also opened their airspace in Qatar.
The dispute had shattered the GCC and disrupted US foreign policy in the region, including its efforts to isolate Iran. Last week’s breakthrough follows a final push from the outgoing Trump administration and Kuwait to arbitrate the dispute.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to unify the Arab ranks ahead of the new administration of President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to take a stronger stance towards the kingdom and re-engage with Iran.
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