Tuesday August 15, 2017
A Qatar Airways Airbus A350 XWB (Reuters)
Al-Arabiya
video shows missile attack on Qatar Airways jet, claiming
'international law' allows destruction of flights violating airspace
A
Saudi state TV channel has produced a video showing the potential
consequences of a Qatari passenger jet entering Riyadh's airspace –
being shot out of the sky.
In a short animation published on
Al-Arabiya TV a few days ago, a commercial Qatar Airways passenger jet
is shown entering Saudi airspace, before being escorted to land by a
Saudi fighter jet.
A voiceover says that, "according to
international law, a state that bans flights from entering its airspace
has the right to deal with the violating plane in any way it wishes".
"The
options in this case either take the form of deploying a fighter jet
that forces the plane to land whereby the flight crew are then tried on
several charges."
Or, the voice adds, "international law also
allows states to shoot down any flight that violates a state's airspace,
classing it as a legitimate target, especially over military areas."
In
early June, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain imposed a
commercial and economic blockade on Qatar, ostensibly for the emirate's
support for terrorism, a claim Doha denies.
The release of the video - and its implications for unarmed passenger jets - was condemned by scores of Twitter users.
In a bid to boost tourism, Qatar last week announced visa-free travel to citizens of 80 countries.
Qatar
Airways chief Akbar al-Baker said his carrier, which this year plans to
extend its network to 62 new destinations, would be a primary
beneficiary.
"This historic announcement comes at time of
historic significance; while some countries in the region have decided
to close their skies and their borders, Qatar has instead opened its
borders," he said.