The day is June 4, 2017. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have just announced that they are halting all land, sea and air travel with Qatar alongside ejecting its diplomats and ordering Qatari citizens to leave the Gulf states within the next two weeks.
Half a decade since the Middle East region was shaken by one of its biggest diplomatic crises to date, ties have been restored. Against the odds, Doha largely emerged as a winner, with the country most recently establishing its first-ever airspace, a goal it has strived for since 2017. This is a significant development for the Gulf country, as it represents the first time since it became independent that it will hold complete and exclusive sovereignty over its airspace.
