1,200 crew members from banned countries entered Israel
Following an attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight, it was revealed that over 1,200 crew members from countries without diplomatic ties to Israel have entered the country this year. The incident has sparked investigations into hiring practices and security vetting processes.
Why it matters
The event exposes critical gaps in international aviation security and background check protocols for airline personnel.
This number takes on an entirely different meaning after the attempted hijacking: More than 1,200 airline crew members from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel have entered the country since the beginning of the year - including crew from Syria, Lebanon and Oman.
The figure, reported Tuesday by
Kan News
, emerged days after the attempted
hijacking of a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv
- and particularly after it was revealed that the Omani pilot at the center of the affair had previously raised concerns in his home country.
Imam Al-Hamami was not a pilot who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. According to reports, authorities in Oman had already noticed his online activity and concluded that he was showing excessive interest in radical ideology. The concern was serious enough that he was not allowed to continue working as a pilot for the national carrier, Oman Air.
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