Qatar Emiri plane 'lands in Saudi Arabia for first time since Gulf crisis'

A plane from the Qatari Emiri fleet has landed in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the start of a Saudi-led economic and diplomatic boycott against Doha nearly two years ago.

The government jetliner landed in the airport in the coastal city of Jeddah on Monday, news website Qatar Today reported on Monday evening.

The Doha-based outlet failed to say who was on board the plane but posted an image it parked in the airport.

The New Arab has contacted the Qatari foreign ministry for comment on the report.

Aviation analyst Alex Macheras reported that a Qatari diplomat was onboard the flight to discuss an upcoming emergency summit in Mecca on tensions between Iran and the United States.

The report comes after Qatar said on Sunday that it had received an invitation from Saudi Arabia to attend the regional talks.

Qatar's neighbours have closed off their airspace to Qatari planes since June 2017, when they launched a boycott of Doha.

The bloc cut ties with Qatar for allegedly supporting "extremists" and seeking closer ties with arch-rival Iran - charges Doha has vehemently denied.

This is not the first time a Qatari plane has landed in Saudi Arabia. Last December a Qatari delegation visited the kingdom for a Gulf Cooperation Council summit.