Qatar Airways slams Syria flights suspension reports

Qatar Airways has dismissed media reports claiming that the carrier had suspended its services to Syria. In a statement, Qatar's state airline said its scheduled passenger flights to and from the conflict-torn country were still "fully operational". The carrier added that media reports which claimed flights had been stopped were "completely unfounded", according to a statement published by Qatar News Agency. However, Qatar Airways said it has reduced the frequency from 10 flights a week to seven services each week to and from Damascus "due to a reduction in traffic". Passengers holding reservations on the three cancelled flights have been re-booked on the other Damascus services, it said, adding that the airline continues to operate flights to both Damascus and Aleppo. On Wednesday, the UAE said it had no plans to suspend flights to Syria. Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri, chairman of the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority and also the economy minister, said the UAE was committed to Arab League resolutions on Syria. "[The minister] affirmed that as matters stand, the UAE airlines have no intention of suspending flights to Syria," said a statement from the Dubai press office.