Quarrels with Qatar could affect SA flight

THE diplomatic rift which has
seen Saudi Arabia, United
Arab Emirates, Yemen, Bahrain
and Egypt closing their
airspace to Qatari aircraft has
not had any impact on travel
from SA, industry players say.
The countries who
introduced the measures have
accused Qatar of supporting
terrorism, a claim Qatar has
called unjustified.
Dinesh Naidoo, group
operations director of SWG,
says there’s been no impact
on flights from South Africa
on Qatar Airways (QR), which
he says is a “hugely popular”
airline for South Africans.
“It is business as usual
for QR unless travellers are
flying to one of the nations
that severed ties with Qatar.
Customers who are travelling
to or via Qatar to Europe or
another destination will be
able to travel as normal,”
Flight Centre said in a
statement to its customers.
Andrew Stark, md of Flight
Centre Travel Group, says the
diplomatic rift will affect which
airline customers will choose.
Meanwhile, aviation analysts
warn Qatar Airways’ schedules
and travel times to South
Africa may be impacted if the
row between the countries
persists.
Chris Zweigenthal, ceo of
AASA, says because several
countries have closed their
airspace to Qatar Airways,
the airline will need to look at
re-routing some of its flights.
Aviation analyst, Mark
Martin, agrees and warns that
travellers flying into African
destinations could expect
an additional three to four
hours’ travelling time due to a
change in routing. An increase
in ticket prices could be
expected and non-Gulf carriers
could also benefit from an
increase in market share, he
adds.
Qatar Airways had not
responded to comment at the
time of publishing.