The United Arab Emirates said two Qatari fighter jets "dangerously approached" an Emirati passenger flight and a civilian helicopter on Monday, sparking a swift denial by Doha in the latest such incident between the Gulf rivals.
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority condemned the "reckless manner" in which the Qatari fighter jets purportedly harassed its planes. "The distance was so close that the traffic collision avoidance system was triggered," said Ismail al-Blooshi, assistant director of the aviation authority's safety affairs division.
In the case of the commercial passenger plane, he said the aircrafts came within 700 feet of one another at high speed - with the Emirati plane taking an emergency climb in altitude. "Any wrong manoeuvre at this stage by either aircraft would have been a catastrophe," Blooshi told AFP by phone.
The Qatari jets "were not on scheduled routes", he added.
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