Flights to Qatar have been cancelled as tensions escalate in the region over accusations that they support terrorism.

Qatar has denied the accusation, but several airlines have suspended all flights to the country until the dispute has been settled.

Emirates, Etihad Airways and FlyDubai have all cancelled flights to Doha, the capital of Qatar, from Tuesday morning.

Etihad, which operates four return flights to Doha daily, said the measure will be in place “until further notice”.

A flydubai spokesperson confirmed: ““From Tuesday 06 June 2017, all flydubai flights between Dubai and Doha will be suspended.”

The cancelations are expected to cause much disruption for travellers as Qatar is a common stop-over for long-haul flights from the UK.

The last flight from Abu Dhabi to Doha will depart at 02:45 local time on Tuesday.

The suspensions come as several Middle Eastern nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with the nation as they collectively accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism.

Qatar called the decision “unjustified” and with “no basis in fact”.

Stephen Howard, director of Postcard Travel Insurance, said: “Airlines have to offer a choice of either a refund of the ticket or an alternative flight. They will also have to pay some compensation.”

The flightdelays.com website states: “You are eligible to claim compensation from the airline in question if your flight was cancelled, which means the flight that you held a valid ticket for did not leave the airport.

“Even if you were allocated a different flight at a different time or day, you are still eligible to claim compensation if the original flight was cancelled.”

The amount of available compensation for your cancelled flight depends on the distance of your flight (in kilometres) and whether your flight was scheduled to land in the EU or not.

Source : Daily Star 
-Agencies