It was in 2017and the crisis in the Gulf opposing the Qatar hasSaudi Arabia and its allies had taken a dramatic turn for regional air transport. Overnight, Qatar and its national carrier Qatar Airways found themselves isolated by air, with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt banning Qatar Airways from flying over their territory and landing.
Since then, Qatar has had to fly its aircraft via Oman and Iran, with the additional cost of the diversions. Tuesday's decision 14 July by the International Court of Justice to claim the illegality of airspace restrictions imposed by its neighbours before the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is a further step towards the potential lifting of these sanctions.
In its judgement, the international court recognised that ICAO had full jurisdiction to hear Qatar's claim, as the air blockade of the country was in fact a "violation of international law". violation of international law. The official Qatari news service announced that " ICAO will now resume its work to resolve the claims made by the State of Qatar ". The investigation was suspended after Saudi Arabia lodged a complaint alleging that the ICAO ruling was contrary to each country's sovereignty over its airspace.
In an official statement, Qatar's Minister of Transport and Communications, Jassim bin Saif al-Sulaiti, welcomed the ICJ's decision, " which will allow the blocking States to finally be brought to justice for violating international aviation rules. We are convinced that ICAO will eventually judge these illegal actions. ".
What will be the consequences for travellers in the region ? In the short term, nothing is likely to change, as the ICAO will have to rule again on the blockade and probably try to find a solution. compromise. This could take several months... In the longer term, it is likely that the airspace of the four countries concerned will reopen to Qatar Airways and airlines wishing to land at Doha. This has the advantage of shortening flight times from Europe and Africa, as well as reducing the Qatari airline's fuel bill. But that doesn't mean it will have an impact on fares...
