Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday revoked the operating licence of Qatar Airways and ordered the airline’s offices to close within 48 hours, state media reported, as a regional diplomatic crisis escalated.

‘The General Authority of Civil Aviation has decided to cancel all licenses granted to Qatar Airways and to close all of its offices in the kingdom within 48 hours,’ read a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The moves comes after Saudi, UAE, Yemen, Libya and Egypt announced on Monday to severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting terrorism.

Saudi news agency SPA said Riyadh cut diplomatic ties and closed borders with its neighbour to ‘protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism’.