The first flight between Qatar and Saudi Arabia in more than three years landed in Riyadh on Monday following a landmark agreement to resume ties.

A Qatar Airways took off from Doha for King Khalid International Airport at around 11 a.m. GMT and touched down around 12 p.m. GMT.

The company said in a tweet that it was resuming services with a daily flight to Riyadh.

#QatarAirways resumes services to King Khalid International Airport with a daily flight to #Riyadh. pic.twitter.com/f34fvV0QVa

— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) January 11, 2021

At Doha, airport staff filmed aircraft taxiing on the runway, anxious to ensure they got a clip of the relevant plane taking off, according to an AFP correspondent.

Other flights from Saudia are scheduled to take off from Riyadh and Jeddah for Doha on Monday, the company announced earlier.

Saudi Arabia declared a breakthrough in settling the years long rift with Qatar during the GCC Summit in AlUla last week.

The UAE has also restarted commerce and travel with Qatar, and the decision came into effect on Saturday.

Source