Emirates, Etihad deny reports of merger to create world's largest airline

A report has said that Emirates was seeking to take over Etihad

State-owned Emirates and Etihad, two of the Middle East's top airlines, denied a Bloomberg report on Thursday which quoted unnamed sources as saying Emirates was seeking to take over smaller Etihad to create the world's largest carrier.

"There is no truth to this rumour," an Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters. Etihad made a similar statement.

Emirates is owned by the government of Dubai, the region's tourism hub, while Etihad is controlled by the government of neighbouring Abu Dhabi, which thanks to oil exports is the wealthiest member of the United Arab Emirates.

The ownership of the two airlines would make any merger