Qatari fighter jets have once again encroached the airspace of UAE civilian aircraft flying to Bahrain, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority announced.
News agency WAM reported that the aircraft, with 86 passengers on board on the scheduled flight, was flying over Bahraini airspace at 12pm today (Sunday) when the fighter jets approached it “in a dangerous manner”.
The news agency said the fighter jets pursued the Emirati aircraft until it was a distance of two miles horizontally and 700 feet vertically away. The Emirati civilian aircraft was forced to perform an evasive manoeuvre in order to avoid a possible collision.
The GCAA said it would once again file a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regarding this infringement.
The report comes weeks after the GCAA filed a formal complaint about repeated incidents where Qatari fighter jets intercepted Emirati civilian aircraft.
UAE had filed a detailed complaint as per Article No. 54 of the Chicago Convention, which takes into account the national interests of member states of the ICAO.
“These aggressive actions by Qatar against UAE civilian aircrafts are considered as deliberate violations of international covenants and conventions governing civil aviation and are a threat to the safety of civil aviation. The UAE outright rejects these acts,” he was quoted as saying.
In January, a similar incident occurred where Qatari military aircraft intercepted two other civilian planes, threatening the safety of passengers and crew, and violating international laws and conventions.
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