Emirates, Etihad Airways, Flydubai and several other Persian Gulf airlines have cancelled flights to the Qatari capital of Doha following a diplomatic stoush over Qatar's relationship with Iran and alleged support of radical Islam terrorists.

Qatar Airways has also grounded flights from Hamad International Airport to the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

This is likely to see around 80 daily flights cancelled, including Qatar Airways' own Doha-Dubai shuttle which runs 14 times a day.

More than 10% of all airline seats in and out of Qatar are assigned to flights involving the four nations imposing the travel ban, said Diogenis Papiomytis, director of aerospace at Frost & Sullivan.

Plans to bar Qatari jets from entering airspace over those countries could also see many international flights take longer than scheduled.

"Diverting around closed airspace means higher fuel costs and longer flight times," said Mark Martin, head of Dubai-based Martin Consulting.

How does this impact Australian travellers headed to the small but prosperous nation?

Passengers on Qatar Airways' flights from Australia to Doha are unaffected, as are those from the UK – including Qatar Airways' Oneworld partner British Airways – and other parts of the world except for the listed Persian Gulf countries.

However, if you're travelling within the Gulf region on a multi-country trip – visiting clients, government contacts and prospective customers, for example – you'll be stranded trying to get between Doha and Abu Dhabi or Dubai, for example.

You could try having your travel agent re-route you through other nearby countries such as Oman or Kuwait.

At this stage, though, it's worth contacting the airline with which you've booked travel and ask about the options to re-route your flights or taking a full refund under waivers now being offered by each airline involved in the row.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg News