Rabat – After several Arab countries severed ties with Qatar, the Moroccan airline, Royal Air Maroc (RAM), cancelled flights via Doha to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Egypt.
MAP, the state news agency, indicated that RAM flights via Doha could not be guaranteed.
In a statement, Royal Air Maroc told customers, “Royal Air Maroc apologizes to its clients for these inconveniences caused by a situation outside of its control.”
The announcement will likely halt a 2015 agreement between Qatar Airways and Royal Air Maroc that offered expanded services and direct flights.
The RAM cancelations follow announcements from other airlines terminating itineraries. Major carriers, Etihad Airways, Emirates and FlyDubai have all cancelled flights scheduled for Doha.
Etihad Airways suspended flights departing after the evening of June 5 and told its customers, “All customers who are booked on Etihad Airways flights to and from Doha are being provided with alternative options, including full refunds on unused tickets and free rebooked to the nearest alternate Etihad Airways destinations.”
A spokesperson for Emirates explained the cancelations, “As instructed by the UAE government, Emirates will suspend its flights to and from Doha, starting from the morning of 6 June 2017, until further notice.”
Qatar Airways has also cancelled all of its flights to the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Saudi Arabia and the UAE made up the largest markets for Qatar Airways before the diplomatic dispute.
The abrupt cancelations of these routes will likely continue to cause headaches for travelers. Although the airlines has indicated their wiliness to work with customers the ban has left many scrambling to rebook flights.
While Morocco has thus far refrained from engaging in the dispute between Qatar and other Arab nations, the country maintains close ties with many of the Gulf states.
