Qatar blocks planes from transporting hajj pilgrims

Saudi Arabia yesterday said Qatar had refused to allow its planes to land in Doha to transport Qatari Muslims to Makkah for the annual hajj pilgrimage.

"Saudi Arabian Airlines director general Saleh al-Jasser has said that the airline has thus far been unable to schedule flights to transport Qatari pilgrims from Hamad International Airport in Doha," read a report on the SPA news agency.

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"Qatari authorities have not allowed the aircraft to land as it did not have the right paperwork, although the paperwork was filed days ago," SPA said.

Saudi Arabia last week reopened its land border with Qatar for Muslim pilgrims and said it would provide transport for Qataris from Doha to Makkah, in a temporary lifting of a months-long boycott of Qatar.

The Salwa border crossing, a key passage for Muslims on the annual hajj pilgrimage, has been closed since June in a major diplomatic crisis that saw Riyadh and its regional allies cut relations with Doha over allegations that the emirate supported Islamist extremists.

Qatar has denied the charge and in turn accused Riyadh of politicising the hajj by restricting its citizens from making the pilgrimage to Makkah, the holiest site in Islam that is located in western Saudi Arabia.

Around 120 Qataris entered Saudi territory on Thursday through the Salwa border, also known as Abu Samrah, Saudi state television reported, after King Salman called for the border to be opened for pilgrims without electronic permits.

The government separately allocated seven flights of the Saudi national carrier to bring pilgrims from Doha at the monarch's expense, state news agency SPA announced.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in June cut all ties with Qatar over allegations that the emirate supported Islamist extremists. The four Arab states have recalled their diplomats from Qatar and banned the emirate from using their airspace or ports.