Israel to ramp up pilot checks after flydubai hijacking, crash attempt

Israel is set to ramp up security checks on pilots flying into the country, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office says, after a copilot on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv had stabbed the pilot and attempted to crash the plane.

The incident has sharpened questions about how pilots flying in and out of Israel and around the conflict-hit Middle East are vetted and what sorts of security protocols they face, according to government officials and aviation analysts.

Israeli officials frequently warn of potential threats targeting Jews and Israelis around the world. Antisemitism has increased globally in recent years, including violent and sometimes deadly attacks targeting Jews. So far, no motive has been given for the co-pilot’s attack.

“Every pilot that is going to be flying into Israel, we are going to know the pilots’ identities, know who they are, and do some type of security check,” Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office, tells Reuters.

He says Netanyahu had instructed authorities to “ramp up security” on flights to Israel operated by Israeli and on non-Israeli carriers.

“Anywhere that an Israeli is going to be flying into Israel. Our job right now is to do our best — even if they’re not on Israeli airlines — to make sure that those security procedures are much higher,” Spielman says.

The UAE civil aviation regulator, the GCAA, does not respond to a Reuters request for comment on how its pilots are vetted.