UAE protests Qatari military jets interception of Emirates passenger jet

ABU DHABI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Monday the interception of an Emirates passenger flight by Qatari military jets was a "flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation," UAE state news agency WAM reported.

The UAE General Authority of Civil Aviation (GCAA) also said that the interception was "a clear violation of international laws and conventions."

The flight operated by Emirates was a regular scheduled service which took off Monday morning from its home airport Dubai to Manama, the capital of Bahrain, according to Sky News Arabia in Abu Dhabi.

GCCA stressed that "the UAE rejects this threat to the safety of air traffic and will take all necessary legal measures to ensure the safety and security of civil aviation."

Emirates is the Dubai government controlled, international carrier of the UAE.

The incident happened days after Qatar complaint to the United Nations about a UAE military jet's alleged violation of its airspace last December.

The complaint is refused by the UAE as "incorrect and confusing," and it added that UAE authorities were working to respond to it officially with evidence.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing Doha of supporting "extremism and terrorism."

They also blamed Qatar, a major natural gas supplier, of aligning with non-Arab Gulf state Iran against Arab interests.

The Arab quartet also imposed transport and trade sanctions by air, land and sea. Qatar has denied the charges and upgraded trade with Iran and Turkey since then to mitigate the impact of the sanctions. Enditem