Algeria to close airspace to UAE-registered aircraft after severing diplomatic ties

Algeria severs diplomatic ties with UAE, gives ambassador 48 hours to leave

Algeria announced Thursday that it will close its airspace to United Arab Emirates (UAE)-registered civilian and military aircraft from midnight Sept. 11, following a decision to sever diplomatic relations with the Gulf country.

The Defense Ministry said the measure applies to all UAE-registered civilian and military aircraft flying to or from the country.

The decision exempts Emirati commercial civilian flights operating to and from Houari Boumediene International Airport in Algiers, which will be allowed to continue until the end of 2026, when the contract expires.

🔴على إثر قطع الجزائر لعلاقاتها الدبلوماسية مع دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة، قررت الجزائر غلق مجالها الجوي ابتداءً من يوم 11 سبتمبر 2026 على الساعة00:00 ، أمام كل الطائرات المرقمة بدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة المدنية والعسكرية ذهابا وإيابا، يستثني من هذا القرار الرحلات… pic.twitter.com/AINmKfkEmT

— وزارة الدفاع الوطني الجزائرية (@mdnGovDz) September 10, 2026

Algeria announced earlier Thursday that it was severing relations with the UAE and gave the Emirati ambassador 48 hours to comply with the decision.

The country abruptly severed diplomatic relations ​with the UAE, citing what it described as a series ‌of "provocative or hostile" actions by Abu Dhabi but giving no specific reason for the move.

Shortly after Algeria's announcement, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said on X that diplomatic relations should be based on "rationality, communication and ​clarity of interests", rather than "riddles and signals that require decoding".

العلاقات الدبلوماسية تُدار بالعقل والتواصل ووضوح المصالح، لا بالألغاز والإشارات التي تحتاج إلى فكّ الشفرات، ولا يمكن أن تكون رهينة احتقان داخلي أو عجز عن شرح المصالح وتحديد الأولويات.

فالغموض ليس سياسة والضجيج لا يعوّض غياب الرؤية، والدبلوماسية الناجحة تقوم على وضوح المواقف وحسن…

— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) September 10, 2026

Relations between the two countries ​have come under growing strain in recent years, with Algerian media outlets sharply ⁠criticising the UAE and accusing it of seeking to sow regional discord.

The Algerian foreign ministry said ​the UAE's actions had reached a point where they could no longer be considered acceptable or tolerable ​and that it had "exhausted all means of preserving bilateral relations."

Read: Netanyahu warned by UAE president before October 7 events, failed to brief security chiefs: Haaretz

Gargash, who did not explicitly mention Algeria or link his comments to its decision, said successful diplomacy depended on clear positions and the effective management of interests and disagreements.

The UAE ​ambassador was summoned to the ministry, informed of the decision and given 48 hours to comply, ​the foreign ministry said.

#URGENT Algeria decides to sever diplomatic ties with United Arab Emirates after exhausting all means to preserve bilateral relations, according to official television

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) September 10, 2026

Algeria and the UAE have taken differing positions on several regional issues. Algeria opposes normalisation with ‌Israel, ⁠while the UAE and Algeria's regional rival Morocco established diplomatic ties with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020.

The two countries are also on opposing sides of the decades-old Western Sahara dispute. The UAE supports Morocco's claim to sovereignty over the territory where it has a consulate, while Algeria backs ​the Polisario Front, which ​seeks an independent Western ⁠Sahara.

Read more: Israel considering plans to build 1,670 new housing units in West Bank Jewish settlements: commission

The two countries' interests have increasingly intersected in the Sahel, where the UAE has expanded ties with several governments in recent years, while Algeria's relations ​with some of its southern neighbours have become strained following a series ​of military coups.

Algerian ⁠President Abdelmadjid said last year his country's relations with all Gulf states were warm except for one — a thinly veiled reference to the UAE.

He described ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar as "brotherly", while ⁠accusing ​the unnamed country of meddling in Algeria's internal affairs and ​seeking to destabilise it.

In February, Algeria began the process of cancelling an air services agreement with the UAE that was signed in ​Abu Dhabi in May 2013.