Israir has frozen its planned expansion of flights to Marrakech, Morocco, and suspended ticket sales on the route in the wake of the cockpit attack on a Flydubai flight bound for Israel.
The airline had planned to increase service from one to three weekly flights starting in November, on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. It has now shelved those plans and halted negotiations to lease an additional aircraft to operate the expanded route.
Israir said it has stopped selling tickets for its Marrakech flights until it receives final security guidelines from the relevant authorities, and that the safety and security of its passengers and crew remain its top priority. The airline did not specify which security directives led to the decision.
Israir resumed direct flights to Marrakech in early September after a long break, operating one weekly flight on Tuesdays.
The move follows the September 30 attack on a Flydubai flight to Israel, in which an Omani co-pilot struck the Indian captain in the head with a crash axe in an attempt to bring down the plane. Passengers and cabin crew subdued the attacker, and the flight landed safely.
Israel has since suspended all Flydubai flights, and Transport Minister Miri Regev rejected the airline’s request to resume service. Israeli authorities are reviewing security procedures, including background checks on crew members from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel. New measures also require non-Israeli passengers to submit a form 48 hours before their flight, with citizens of high-risk countries screened by the Mossad and the Shin Bet.
On Monday, an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Israel was turned back an hour after takeoff after it emerged that the pilot held Indonesian citizenship and was not authorized to land in Israel.
