Israel admits foreign pilot security gaps after Flydubai cockpit attack

Transportation Minister Miri Regev said the ministry does not conduct background checks on foreign pilots and does not have the authority or resources to determine whether individual crew members pose a security threat.

"Those who are supposed to identify the crew are security officials. We are not security officials," Regev told Israel's public broadcaster Kan on Saturday.

She said decisions on threat levels and whether flights should operate to particular destinations are the responsibility of security agencies.

'Nothing is 100% safe'

The ministry's security division also reportedly acknowledged that it has no personnel stationed abroad to screen every foreign crew member before they arrive in Israel.

"We have no staff that checks every person there," a representative was quoted as saying in Israeli media.

The official reportedly added that "nothing is 100%" when it comes to security and said the ministry could not guarantee that a similar incident would not happen again.

The division also said it could not provide a figure for how many pilots from countries considered hostile to Israel had previously landed in the country, raising fresh questions over the enforcement of existing restrictions.

Questions over Omani pilots

The investigation has also raised concerns over how Omani pilots were able to operate flights into Tel Aviv despite Israel's restrictions on pilots from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the country.

Dozens of Omani pilots have reportedly flown to Tel Aviv on flydubai flights in recent years.

Oman does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and has not joined the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered agreements that established or normalised relations between Israel and several Arab countries, including the UAE.

Shin Bet faces scrutiny

Israeli media outlet Channel 12 reported that the Shin Bet security agency may have failed to adequately enforce the restriction on pilots from countries without diplomatic ties with Israel.

According to the report, Israel had effectively relied on foreign airlines to enforce the ban, while Shin Bet reportedly did not independently verify the national origins of flydubai's pilots beyond reminding the airline of the requirement.

The revelations have triggered questions over whether a security measure designed to prevent precisely such a scenario was properly implemented.

Indian Captain injured in cockpit attack

The security concerns emerged after an Omani co-pilot allegedly attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar with an axe during a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

The co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, allegedly stabbed Machchhar during the flight in what the UAE has described as a planned "terrorist act."

The attack sent the Boeing 737 into a rapid descent of nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. Passengers and crew members rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the co-pilot.

A second pair of flydubai pilots aboard the aircraft, which was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, subsequently took control and landed the plane safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The UAE is investigating the incident, while the revelations in Israel have widened the probe to include questions over pilot screening and aviation security procedures.