Flydubai may have violated the terms governing its flights to Israel by assigning an Omani pilot to the route. That pilot is now accused of stabbing his captain and trying to crash a Tel Aviv-bound plane on Wednesday.
A Transportation Ministry source told the Jerusalem Post that Flydubai's agreement to operate in Israel requires all pilots flying to the country to come from states that have normalized relations with Israel. Oman does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. "This is a clear breach of the agreement," the source said, adding that the Shin Bet must look into the matter.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev made the same point on the record. She said Flydubai had violated the countries' aviation agreement, which she described as requiring pilots on flights to Israel to be citizens of countries with which Israel maintains diplomatic relations. Regev has demanded that all Flydubai flights to Israel be halted until the incident is fully investigated. She has also asked that Israeli airlines be allowed to resume flights to Dubai under Israeli security screening.
The Omani co-pilot, whose name has not been released, had worked for Flydubai for about nine months, according to Israel Hayom. An Omani official confirmed to CBS News that he was born in Oman and holds Omani citizenship.
How he was cleared to fly to Israel is now a central question in the investigation. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Mossad, Shin Bet, IDF and Transportation Ministry have opened a joint probe. It is examining whether there were any warning signs before the flight, and how an Omani pilot was permitted to operate it. Security officials and the Israel Airports Authority are also reviewing whether the approval process for the crew followed the authority's protocols.
The incident may not have come without warning. Channel 12 News reported that Shin Bet Director David Zini had cautioned for months that security arrangements on flights from the UAE were insufficient.
Israel has since announced it will tighten security checks on all pilots flying into the country. According to Calcalist, Flydubai aircraft landing at Ben Gurion Airport are being directed to a separate area for comprehensive checks of planes and crews. Flydubai has temporarily suspended its flights to and from Israel while the investigation continues.
Aviation security between the two countries has been a sensitive issue before. In 2022, Israel and the UAE resolved a dispute over airport security arrangements that had threatened flights between Israel and Dubai, settling it with a new security agreement.
Flight FZ1073 was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 passengers on Wednesday when the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar in the cockpit. The wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing Israeli passengers and crew to overpower the attacker. The plane landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israel has classified the incident as a terror attack, and the co-pilot is being questioned by Saudi authorities.
