Including Arab countries.. Israel excludes holders of 29 nationalities from aircraft crews

Tel Aviv - Ofoq News - Israel has notified foreign airlines operating flights to Ben Gurion Airport of imposing new restrictions on cabin crew members with dual nationalities, if one of their nationalities belongs to 29 countries included in a list specified by the Israeli authorities, according to the specialized aviation website “Paddle Your On Cano”.

According to the Hebrew "Wala" website, the action comes after thwarting an alleged attack attempt on a Flydubai flight last September 30, as the co-pilot accuses Hamam Al-Hamahi of trying to disable the plane's pilot and take control of a passenger plane that was heading to Ben Gurion Airport, with the aim of crashing it inside the passenger building.

Israel imposes new restrictions on flight crews

The specialized aviation website indicated that the intervention of a number of passengers and two pilots who were not assigned to work on the flight contributed to thwarting the suspected attempt.

The new restrictions expand the scope of Israeli measures that targeted aircraft crew members coming from countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations, to also include those holding dual nationalities. Under these measures, a crew member may be prevented from working on a flight bound for Israel if he holds an American passport in addition to the citizenship of one of the countries on the list.

United Airlines warns its crews about the restrictions

The Walla website reported that United Airlines had already issued an internal memo to pilots and cabin crew warning them of the new restrictions, noting that other foreign airlines operating flights to Israel had received the same notification.

List of countries subject to restrictions

According to the Walla website, the published list includes 29 countries, although the report indicates that the restrictions include 31 countries, without mentioning the remaining two countries.

The list includes Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Comoros, Cuba, Djibouti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Venezuela and Yemen.

What happened on the Flydubai flight?

Al Hamahi, an Omani citizen, had previously made two trips to Tel Aviv without raising suspicion, raising questions about his background check procedures and the information available to his previous employers.

According to the Hebrew website, the Oman Air company he worked for was aware of what the report described as his alleged extremist views, and decided to transfer him from flying planes to an office job, adding that he later worked for Royal Air Maroc, before moving to Flydubai.

The Walla website indicated that the prosecution accuses Al-Hamahi of planning a terrorist attack inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, and that he chose to work for Flydubai because the company operates flights to Israel. He is also suspected of exploiting two previous flights to Tel Aviv to plan the alleged attack.