Two Maldivian pilots employed by Flydubai have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates as part of the investigation into the attempted attack on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, according to a report by the Maldivian news site Adhadhu.
The arrests took place on the Shabbos before the report was published on October 8, according to Adhadhu. The two pilots had initially been called in to give testimony as witnesses in the early days of the investigation, but their status changed to suspects.
Family members received no information about their whereabouts until the following Tuesday, when the Maldivian embassy in the UAE informed them that the two were being held by local police.
The two pilots are the most recent hires among the six Maldivian pilots employed by Flydubai. According to Adhadhu, they had been in contact with Hamza al-Hamami, an Omani national who served as co-pilot on the flight and is suspected of attempting to seize control of the aircraft and fly it toward Ben Gurion Airport.
Authorities have not disclosed what specific allegations the two arrested pilots face, and no public evidence has been presented linking them to the planning or execution of the attempted attack.
Investigators suspect additional operatives may have been involved in the decision to carry out the attack, a theory that contradicts the lone-attacker scenario.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel is investigating whether the attacker was sent by another party or a state, and promised retaliation if that turns out to be the case.
