Philippine Airlines announced Wednesday it will continue its flight services to the Middle East despite the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Gulf nations.
The flag carrier airline, however, said it will not carry Qatar nationals to and from the United Arab Emirates in compliance with guidelines issued by the Gulf nations.
“While PAL is not a party to the dispute and maintains strong bilateral ties to these countries, it shall observe guidelines issued by nations,” PAL said in a statement. “In light of these guidelines, PAL shall not carry Qatari nationals into the UAE (Abu Dhabi/Dubai) and shall not carry UAE nationals into Qatar (Doha).”
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE on Monday cut diplomatic ties with Qatar citing the need to “protect national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism”.
PAL operates 30 flights per week to the Middle East from the Philippines.
PAL flies seven times weekly to Dubai, four times weekly to Kuwait, four times weekly to Doha, five times weekly to Dammam, three times weekly to Jeddah and seven times weekly to Riyadh.
photo credit: Wikimedia
