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'Whoever sent this pilot...': Netanyahu warns of a 'heavy price’ after flydubai incident; Omani pilots' entry into Israel under scanner
Israel and Oman do not have official diplomatic ties, and Netanyahu has said pilots from such countries were not permitted to operate flights to Israel.
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Days after a foiled bid to ‘crash’ flydubai's Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, allegedly involving a co-pilot of Omani nationality, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning on Friday saying that Israel would impose a "very heavy price" on any power behind the incident.
Israel is also investigating how Omani pilots were able to fly into Tel Aviv in recent years despite restriction on crew from countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations, Oman being one of them, The Telegraph reported.
Netanyahu's ‘very heavy price’ warning
Issuing a stern warning, Netanyahu said, “As time passes, the picture is becoming clearer: The attacker underwent Islamist radicalisation. He came to crash the plane with all passengers on board.”
"We are investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price," the Israeli PM said of the co-pilot.
In an exclusive interview with Fox & Friends on Thursday, Netanyahu said that the co-pilot had passed a “loophole” in rules prohibiting pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel from flying planes to the country.
Israel and Oman do not have official diplomatic ties, and Netanyahu has said pilots from such countries were not permitted to operate flights to Israel, Reuters reported. How the co-pilot came to be assigned to the flight to Tel Aviv is now under scanner.
Abraham Accords and the loophole in aviation agreement
The UAE and Israel established diplomatic relations in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords. They subsequently reached an agreement on air transport services to establish a framework for commercial flights between the two countries.
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said the agreement allowed UAE airlines to operate 28 passenger flights a week to Tel Aviv, unlimited flights to Eilat and cargo services. It also provided for no restrictions on unscheduled flights between the two countries.
Flydubai was the first airline to launch direct flights between the UAE and Israel. The airline initially operated two flights a day on the route and now operates as many as 10 daily flights, according to The New York Times.
Flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv cross Saudi airspace. Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, but in September 2020 it allowed flights travelling to and from the UAE to cross its airspace.
Does the agreement restrict pilot nationality?
The official 2020 UAE General Civil Aviation Authority air services agreement does not set out the reported requirement that pilots must hold passports from countries with diplomatic relations with Israel. That condition has been cited by Israeli officials and media reports following the flydubai incident.
Israel to question accused pilot
In a latest update on the case, Israeli officials are likely to question the co-pilot of the flydubai flight that was operating from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Reuters reported quoting sources.
Netanyahu previously stated that the pilot was from Oman and also left open the possibility that he was experiencing mental problems.
On September 30, a major disaster was averted on flydubai flight FZ1073 after passengers and crew restrained the co-pilot after he stabbed the captain and attempted the crash the plane with 174 people on board.
Israeli officials and witnesses alleged that the co-pilot of the Tel Aviv-bound flight stabbed the Indian captain Smit Machchar, who managed to open the cockpit door to let the passengers enter and overpower the attacker. The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia with no major casualties.
