Bahrain denies opening airspace to Qatar

Manama, Aug 9 (IANS/WAM) Bahrain on Wednesday denied media reports that it has opened its airspace to Qatar Airways, affirming that the country's sovereign skies remain closed to all planes owned by or registered in Doha.

"All media reports on Bahrain opening its airspace to Qatar Airways are misinformation and go counter to reality," the Bahrain News Agency quoted the Civil Aviation Affairs at the Bahraini Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication as saying.

The country's Civil Aviation Affairs is enforcing all measures taken in coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Bureau in Cairo to ensure safety of air traffic, including the allocation of additional contingency routes over High Seas through Bahrain for aviation data, said the Ministry.

It added: "This measure has been taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain in compliance with ICAO's directives to ensure safety in the air traffic system over international waters and it does not mean that the Kingdom has allowed the Qatar Airways to use its sovereign airspace."

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