Israeli Transport Minister Demands Flydubai Flights Halted After Hijacking Attempt

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev has urgently requested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately suspend all Flydubai flights to Israel. The demand follows an incident on Wednesday, September 30, where the second pilot of a Flydubai flight, an Omani citizen, allegedly attempted to hijack the aircraft, which was carrying Israeli passengers. Regev stated that Flydubai may have violated the agreement between Israel and the UAE, which she claims stipulates that only pilots who are citizens of countries with diplomatic ties to Israel should be allowed to land in the country. She also called for Israeli airlines, including El Al, Israir, and Arkia, to resume flights to Dubai under Israeli security control, as these flights are currently prohibited due to security disagreements. Regev suggested rerouting passengers to flights operated by Israeli carriers. Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid, who had previously urged calm, faced criticism from the government bloc after the incident.