Qataris make 'more than 1,200' trips between UAE and Qatar since January 9

UAE government expects travel between the two countries to increase

Flight information panels announcing a flydubai flight arriving from Dubai at Doha's Hamad airport last month. AFP

More than 1,200 trips were made by Qataris, to and from the UAE, since the restoration of diplomatic and transport links last month.

The UAE reopened air, land and sea borders with Qatar on January 9, after the signing of the Al Ula Declaration at a GCC summit in Saudi Arabia.

Direct flights and visa-free entry for Qataris were once again permitted.

According to the UAE government, since that date, Qataris have travelled to, or from, the UAE more than "1,230 times, with the vast majority of them travelling into the country".

"With Qatari cars already being spotted on the streets of the UAE, travel between the two countries is expected to rise in the coming period," a government source told The National.

Qatar Airways and flydubai already operate flights and Etihad Airways said it would resume services between Abu Dhabi and Doha from the middle of this month.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic, trade and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017.

During this period, "thousands of Qatari citizens continued to reside in the UAE", the government source said. The UAE has "consistently sought to minimise any negative consequences" for them, the source said.

"Throughout the termination of relations ... the UAE worked to ensure equal access among Qatari citizens in the UAE to health care, judicial services, education, and their enjoyment of family life."

After the reinstatement of ties, "investment and trade opportunities between the two countries, as well as the wider regional bloc" will also increase, the source said. More Qataris are expected to choose to study in the UAE.

A hotline and a visa website set up to help Qataris during the period when there was an absence of diplomatic ties, will be deactivated soon, the source said.