Month after thwarted flydubai attack, Israel issues stringent new rules for all airlines

A month after the attempted terrorist crashing of a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai, Israeli authorities issued new, stringent directives on Thursday to both foreign and Israeli airlines, requiring them to submit crew information 48 hours prior to departure, amid other steps to bolster security.

The new directives require that any further updates regarding crew members are submitted during the check-in period and no later than two hours before takeoff, and that a final list be issued at takeoff. Bloomberg reported that the measures were ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a security review, and are intended to allow adequate time for background checks.

The directives come after a near-disaster on September 30 as flydubai Flight FZ1073 was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, when the copilot, Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, attacked the captain, Smit Machchhar, and attempted to crash the aircraft. The plane plunged thousands of feet before several Israeli passengers burst into the cockpit, whose door Machchhar had managed to open, immobilized the terrorist copilot and initially stabilized the plane.

Two off-duty pilots aboard the flight then took over the controls and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before a replacement aircraft returned passengers to Tel Aviv.

Machchhar was seriously injured in the attack by Hammami, who struck him in the back of the head with an emergency axe.

The security requirements were issued by the National Center for Passenger Information Data Analysis, also known as Malan, a division within the Israel Tax Authority. The directives apply to all incoming and outgoing flights to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport operated by all airlines, foreign and Israeli.

Non-Israeli carriers and Israeli airlines operating foreign aircraft flying in and out of Israel will henceforth be required to complete an online form with full details about pilots, cabin crew and passengers 48 hours before entering Israel, for review by the Israel Population and Immigration Authority.

The Immigration Authority will approve or reject requests to board passengers and crew members on flights entering Israel, departing from it, or passing through its territory.

The National Center for Passenger Information Data Analysis emphasized that the advance-notice period will give Israeli authorities more time to prepare than international practices generally allow and strengthen their ability to address potential security concerns.

Additionally, the Mossad and Shin Bet have designated certain countries as “red” countries and will review entry forms and visa applications from would-be arrivals from these countries, Channel 13 reported.

The Shin Bet, which until now oversaw security relating to Israeli airlines and provided the “security blanket” for all flights departing Israel, will also be responsible for airline security procedures relating to incoming foreign airlines and their overseas departure points.

The near-disaster aboard Flight 1073 exposed major flaws in Israel’s security procedures, especially for incoming foreign flights, with no effective oversight of the airlines’ vetting of pilots, no Israeli vetting of the crews, and aircrew lists routinely submitted only after planes have taken off. Unconfirmed reports said that some 1,240 aircrew members from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel have entered the country over the past year.

Al-Hammami had been grounded by Oman Air after it was discovered he was in possession of extremist materials, but was nonetheless hired by flydubai, and intermittently worked the Dubai-Tel Aviv route.

The Channel 13 report also noted that the two off-duty flydubai pilots who took over the controls after Hammami had been immobilized, and who performed an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, have been cleared of any suspicion of cooperation with the terrorist at any stage.

The two off-duty pilots, along with Machchhar and the rest of the crew, were honored at an award ceremony in the UAE on Tuesday, where they were presented with the First Class Order of Zayed II, “in recognition of their courageous efforts to ensure the safety of passengers.”