(Image Courtesy: IVAO-International Virtual Aviation Organisation shows the airspace of various GCC countries. This image is being widely circulated on social media and other websites)





Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates are among eight nations that have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, with neighbouring countries also closing their airspace to Doha flights.

For Qatar Airways, this could prove disastrous as Centre for Aviation (CAPA) wrote in a report, "Losing Saudi, Bahrain and UAE airspace would effectively ground Qatar Airways."

(Also read: How does the diplomatic row with Qatar affect you)

This is because despite it's size Qatar actually has very little airspace of its own.

"It is largely surrounded by Bahrain airspace (the Bahrain FIR), a slither on the south is managed by Saudi Arabia while the UAE is on the eastern border," CAPA stated.

Lack of access to Saudi airspace will force Qatar Airways into a costly reroute of its Africa-bound flights.





(This image from flightradar 24 shows the alternate routes that Qatar Airways will have to take to Madrid, Barcelona, Milan)