Bahrain denies opening airspace to Qatar

The Kingdom of Bahrain has denied media reports alleging that the Kingdom has opened its airspace to Qatar Airways, affirming that Bahrain's sovereign skies remain closed to all planes owned by or registered in Qatar.

The Bahrain News Agency quoted the Civil Aviation Affairs at the Bahraini Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication as saying in a statement Wednesday that all media reports on Bahrain opening its airspace to Qatar Airways are misinformation and go counter to reality.

All air routes over international waters have been open for all types of air traffic since June 11th, 2017, with this status quo remaining unchanged, the statement said.

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