UAE claims Qatar jet intercept flights

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates on Monday claimed that Qatari fighter jets intercepted two of its commercial airliners in international airspace on the way to Bahrain, allegations promptly denied by a Doha official.

The UAE’S two major airlines declined to comment.

The claim could further escalate tensions between Qatar and the four Arab nations that have been boycotting it for months, among them the UAE. It also follows two complaints by Qatar to the United Nations about Emirati military aircraft allegedly violating its international airspace amid the diplomatic crisis.

The UAE’S state-run WAM news agency made the claim on Monday, citing the country’s General Civil Aviation Authority. “The GCAA received a message from one of the UAE’S national carriers on Monday morning that one of its aircraft on a flight to Manama on a normal route had been intercepted by Qatari fighters,” the report said. “The flight was a regular, scheduled service on a known

THE UAE HAS SAID IT WOULD TAKE “ALL NECESSARY LEGAL MEASURES TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF CIVIL AIR TRAFFIC”.

flight-path that met all the required and internationally recognized approvals and permits.”

WAM said later on Monday a second flight to Bahrain was similarly “intercepted.”

Saif Al Thani, a Qatari government spokesman, denied the UAE’S claim on Twitter, calling it “completely untrue.” He promised a detailed statement would come later.

US Air Force Central Command, which is based at the sprawling al-udeid Air Base in Qatar, also did not immediately have any report about any incident involving a commercial aircraft in the region.