The four states blockading Qatar have been denying Qatari Airways planes access to their airspace since early June, but announced over the weekend that they have decided to provide the airline with emergency air corridors which could be used in the event of any crisis beginning August 1.
They were light on the details of these corridors, and what constitutes an “emergency,” but said that safety was of paramount concern, and that it included a corridor operated by Egypt in the southern Mediterranean, along with other corridors in the Persian Gulf.
Qatari officials, however, say the announcement isn’t true, that the Qatari civil aviation officials had not been provided with access to any such corridors, and that they believe this was a deliberate attempt to spread “false information.”
Qatar has already taken the blockade to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and is pushing in particular for such air corridors in an upcoming meeting. Officials suggest that the blockading states made up this claim of such corridors already being provided to try to derail the hearing.