Abu Dhabi files a complaint after Qatari fighter jets intercepted two Emirati planes

Continued – INA The UAE announced on Tuesday that it will file a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) after Qatari fighter jets approached two Emirati passenger planes, according to what a high-ranking Emirati official announced. Saif Al Suwaidi, head of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, told AFP, “Today we will file a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization about these two serious accidents with the evidence we have collected.” He added, “We will demand the organization’s intervention to prevent Qatar from repeating this behavior.” On Monday, Abu Dhabi accused Qatari fighter planes of “intercepting” an Emirati civilian plane that was on its way to Manama, and a second civilian plane during its descent to Bahrain International Airport, in a new escalation in the Gulf crisis. Al Suwaidi stated that the Qatari fighter jets approached the two planes to a distance that posed a threat to the safety of the two flights. Doha quickly denied the Emirati accusation of “intercepting” the first civilian plane, confirming through its Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Lolwah Al-Khater that the accusation was “untrue.” The Emirati accusation comes after Qatar said on Saturday that it had informed the United Nations that an Emirati military plane that was also heading to Manama violated its airspace at the beginning of this January, following a similar incident last December. Relations between the UAE, Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, on the one hand, and Qatar, on the other hand, have been cut off since June 5, after the four countries accused Doha of supporting terrorism, which it has repeatedly denied. Upon severing their relations with Qatar, the four countries took punitive measures against it in an attempt to tighten the economic and commercial stranglehold on it, including preventing Qatari aircraft from crossing their airspace. Mutual accusations regarding aviation safety and violations of the airspace indicate a new escalation in the crisis. Al Suwaidi said that the two incidents prompted Abu Dhabi to search for an alternative route for its planes heading to Manama, but he pointed out that this matter “will take time because we must reach an agreement with Bahrain.”