Bahrain, UAE open up airspace for Qatar Airways

The world aviation agency says Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to open up some of their airspace to Qatar's state-owned airline after it was hit with flight restrictions earlier this summer in a diplomatic dispute.

A spokesman for the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization said Tuesday that the flight corridors include existing as well as new "temporary or contingency" routes for Qatar Airways.

Spokesman Anthony Philbin says that since June 5, the aviation organization has been working with various countries in the Middle East to work out access to airspace for Qatar-registered aircraft.

Bahrain, the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar, a move that initially stranded passengers and resulted in a drop in fares for Qatar Airways.