Emirates has refuted recent social media reports suggesting a near-miss air collision incident involving one of its aircraft and an Ethiopian Airlines flight. The world renowned airline issued a statement late on Wednesday, categorically denying any such occurrence.
In the statement, an Emirates spokesperson clarified,
Emirates can confirm that there was no instance of an aircraft proximity event compromising the safety of the aircraft over the airspace and during the date and time in question.
The spokesperson further assured that all Emirates aircraft are equipped with advanced capabilities to maintain safe separation and distance during operations, ensuring the utmost safety of passengers and crew onboard.
The reports circulating on social media stemmed from a media report on X (formerly known as Twitter), wherein the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Somaliland purportedly announced a concerning incident involving an Emirates B777, operating as flight EK722, and an Ethiopian Airlines B737 MAX, operating as flight ET690.
According to the media report quoting Somaliland’s CAA, the alleged incident occurred on the evening of Sunday, March 24. The report suggested that the Emirates flight narrowly avoided a collision with the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft.
Details provided by the media report indicated that both planes were directed to maintain an altitude of 37,000 feet by the Federal Government of Somalia’s Mogadishu Control Centre. However, the Somaliland control post reportedly observed the situation and instructed the crew of the Ethiopian airliner to ascend to 39,000 feet.
While the Civil Aviation Authority of the Federal Government of Somalia has not yet responded to the reported incident, the Somaliland CAA explicitly accused the Mogadishu Control Centre of negligence in its handling of air traffic.
