Photos: First Qatar to Saudi flight lands in Riyadh

Qatari Khaled, 12, is hugged by his aunt as he arrives on the first Qatar Airways plane in three years to land at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021.

A mask-clad passenger checks in at Qatar's Hamad International Airport, on January 11, 2021, to take the first commercial flight to Saudi Arabia in three and a half years following a Gulf diplomatic thaw. The first commercial flight between Qatar and Saudi in three and a half years took off from Doha at 1:45 PM local time.

A Qatar Airways flight takes off from Hamad International Airport near the Qatari capital Doha, on the first commercial flight to Saudi Arabia. Qatar-Saudi flights resumed on Monday as the neighbours normalise ties under a landmark agreement that ended a bitter three-year rift and allowed families to reunite.

People queue for check-in at Hamad International Airport in Doha. Economy tickets for flight QR1164 aboard an Airbus A350 were on sale for around $650 one way to cover the roughly 600 kilometres (370 miles) between the neighbours' capitals.

A Saudia Airlines plane will also fly Monday from Riyadh to Doha, departing the kingdom at 1340 GMT according to its online schedule, with services from Jeddah expected to start at a later date.

Bahrain will open its airspace to Qatar as of January 11, the civil aviation affairs authority said on Sunday, following a deal by Arab states last week to end a dispute with Doha.

UAE and Bahrain have both opened their airspace to Qatari aviation under the deal but there has been no word on when the first direct flights will take off.

Just as the first flight to Riyadh was preparing to take off, Qatar Airways tweeted that services to Jeddah and Dammam would resume later in the week.

People welcome their relatives who arrived from Doha.

Passengers arrive to check-in at Hamad International Airport, as the country resumes international flights to Saudi Arabia, in Doha.

Passengers wait at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar.

A passenger arrives to check-in at Hamad International Airport.

"We are very pleased with the positive outcome from the GCC Summit and the decision to reopen all borders with Qatar," Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways' group chief executive, said in a tweet.

Passengers heading to the waiting lounge at the departure hall of Qatar's Hamad International Airport near Doha as the first commercial flight to Saudi Arabia takes off.

A member of Qatar airways crew stands in front of flight information display at Hamad International Airport.

The first Qatar Airways plane in three years lands at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh.

A man hugs his sister who arrived at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh on the first commercial flight from Qatar.