UAE says Qatari fighter jets intercept civilian aircraft

Two Qatari fighter jets flew dangerously close to two civilian aircraft from the United Arab Emirates while they were in Bahraini airspace on Monday, the UAE’s state news agency WAM quoted its civil aviation authority as saying.

WAM said the General Civil Aviation Authority had condemned the “provocative action,” which it said followed two similar incidents that had been reported by the UAE to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations’ aviation agency.

The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, imposed travel, diplomatic and trade sanctions on Qatar last June, accusing it of supporting regional foe Iran as well as Islamist extremists. Qatar has denied the charge and accused the four countries of trying to make it conform to their foreign policy positions.

Qatar in June 2017 asked the ICAO to intervene after its Gulf neighbors closed their airspace to Qatar flights as part of the sanctions.

Bahrain’s civil aviation authority confirmed an incident took place, saying two Qatari fighter jets flew under a UAE Airbus 320 en route from the emirate of Fujairah to Rome, forcing the UAE aircraft to fly at a higher altitude.

It did not mention an incident involving a second UAE aircraft. The airline involved was not specified.

The Bahraini agency said in a statement carried by state news agency BNA that the Qatari jets entered airspace managed by Bahrain without prior authorisation, and that the necessary measures had been taken to file a complaint with the ICAO.

Qatari officials were not immediately available to comment.

While the UAE has banned Qatari aircraft from using its airspace as part of the restrictions, Qatar has not reciprocated.