Some 1,240 aircrew members from countries that have no diplomatic relations with Israel have entered the country since the beginning of the year, including citizens of Syria, Lebanon and Oman, according to figures presented Tuesday at a closed session of a Knesset panel and reported in the Hebrew media.
The data was presented to the Subcommittee for Intelligence of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth, which met to examine last week's attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight and the readiness of the security services. Pilots and co-pilots were among those who entered.
According to people present, cited by i24NEWS, the Transportation Ministry's representative was stunned by the numbers, said he had not been aware of them and asked to submit a formal query on the matter.
"The face of civil aviation in Israel will change from today," Bismuth said after the session. He said all the relevant bodies would be required to complete their internal reviews and provide clear answers, and that the committee would keep following the issue until it had the full findings.
The disclosure has prompted a re-examination of how foreign aircrews are screened. Airlines have been told in recent hours that crew members who hold citizenship, including dual citizenship, of a country without diplomatic relations with Israel may not be assigned to flights to Israel, Arutz Sheva reported. Transportation Minister Miri Regev has demanded immediate steps.
The session came six days after the Omani co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv stabbed the captain in an attempt to crash the plane. Passengers and crew overpowered him and the aircraft landed safely in Saudi Arabia. Oman has no diplomatic relations with Israel. The suspension of Flydubai's flights to Israel is set to continue.
