FIFA has said it will suspend Qatar Airways’ operations in the Middle East after a flight carrying several hundred people was forced back to the capital, Doha, after it was delayed due to the weather.
The news of the flight’s return comes just weeks after the airline announced a major shake-up of its operations in Egypt and the Gulf.
Qatar Airways had been flying between Doha and Cairo since January and was scheduled to depart on Tuesday, but the delay in the Qatari capital has led to a massive disruption in the region.
The airline said on Sunday that it would cancel all its flights until Friday.
The decision comes after a group of countries and the United Nations expressed their disapproval of Qatar’s human rights record.
In response, Qatar Airways announced on Saturday that it was revising its schedule and would not fly to the United Arab Emirates or Bahrain until at least mid-November.
The new schedule will take into account the weather in the Gulf region, the airline said in a statement.
Qatar Airways has previously been in a tough spot, facing criticism for allowing the killing of scores of activists in the country, which has become a key battleground in the conflict between the Arab world’s most populous nation and its regional rival, Saudi Arabia.
Qatar is also a leading supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group which has ruled the country since the 1970s.
Qatari officials also faced criticism for their handling of the country’s recent blockade, which the country says is necessary to protect the population from the spread of deadly diseases, including cholera.
