Emirates, Etihad planes involved in air traffic scare

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Jetliners from the United Arab Emirates' two main airlines avoided a mid-air collision after they apparently got too close to each other over the Indian Ocean earlier this week.

The incident happened Sunday as passenger planes from Dubai-based Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways were traveling in opposite directions between the Gulf federation and the island nation of Seychelles.

Both carriers have recently rerouted flights to the archipelago nation to avoid Yemeni airspace due to fighting there.

Emirates, the Middle East's biggest carrier, said flight EK709 was returning to Dubai when what it called "an air traffic control incident" happened in airspace monitored by air traffic controllers in Mumbai, India.

It said it informed authorities of the incident and later filed an air safety report that will be forwarded to investigators in the Indian city.

"Safety is of paramount importance to Emirates, and we will be cooperating fully with Mumbai Air Traffic Control in the subsequent investigation," the carrier said in a statement.

Both it and Etihad denied that passenger safety was compromised. Neither carrier would say how close the two planes came to each other.

Etihad said a mid-air crash warning device known as a traffic collision avoidance system onboard the Airbus A320 from Abu Dhabi "ensured that safe vertical separation of both aircraft was maintained at all times."

Emirates and Etihad have both grown rapidly in recent years, enticing long-haul transit passengers through their Gulf hubs aboard relatively young aircraft.

Emirates is owned by the government of Mideast commercial hub Dubai, while Etihad is controlled by the oil-rich Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi.

Both carriers are regulated by the Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority, which had no immediate comment. They each operate multiple flights weekly to Seychelles, a tropical tourism destination that has built close ties to the Emirates.

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