+ A
A -
Tribune News Network
Doha
Denial by the UAE carriers has nailed the lies of Abu Dhabi that Qatari fighter jets intercepted their civilian aircraft.
Etihad, Flydubai and Air Arabia airlines have denied interception of their aircraft by Qatari fighter jets, while Emirates, the other carrier from the UAE, refused to comment on reports of the incident, Financial Times reported.
On Monday, Emirati state media said two civilian airliners bound for Bahrain were intercepted by Qatar, citing the country's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Qatar rejected the claims, describing them as a"systematic attack" by the UAE to draw attention away from its own violations of Qatari airspace.
Last week, Doha filed complaints to the UN Security Council over two instances of Emirati military aircraft entering Qatari airspace.
Aviation analyst Alex Macheras said that if Monday's incident had taken place as described, he would expect the airlines involved to come forward, a formal complaint to be made to international bodies and passengers on board the flights to have shared pictures.
"The international community for aviation expects the UN to be notified with details of the interception, time, coordinates, location and a full run-down of what happened ... exactly like what Qatar supplied the UN with when the UAE military jets flew over Doha's economic area," Macheras told Al Jazeera.
"Until then, it seems these accusations are more in retaliation to being the subject of Qatar's UN complaint rather than a genuine occurrence."
