Israel Warns of 9/11-Style Hijacking After Flydubai Incident

An Israeli official warned that a recent attempt to hijack a Flydubai flight nearly replicated the "September 11th event," referring to the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. Since the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, numerous attempts to hijack passenger planes have occurred. While passenger plane hijacking has been a threat since the dawn of civil aviation, with 1,070 documented attempts in 100 years, the 9/11 attacks, where four planes were hijacked and crashed, remain unprecedented.

Following 9/11, global aviation security protocols were significantly enhanced, including reinforced cockpit doors, stricter passenger screening, and the addition of security personnel on flights. Despite these measures, dozens of hijacking attempts have taken place since then, though none have resulted in mass casualties. The article details 13 such incidents, noting that most were carried out by individuals with personal motives, such as mental instability or seeking political asylum, rather than organized terrorist networks.

Notable incidents include a 2002 FARC rebel hijacking in Colombia, a 2006 Turkish Airlines flight hijacked by a deserter seeking asylum, a 2008 Sun Air flight hijacked by militia members in Sudan and diverted to Libya, and a 2009 Aeroméxico flight hijacked by a Bolivian preacher. In 2009, a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit was nearly brought down by a man with explosives hidden in his underwear, but passengers and crew subdued him. A 2012 Tianjin Airlines flight saw six Uyghur men attempt to breach the cockpit, and in 2014, a Pegasus Airlines passenger demanded a flight be diverted to Sochi during the Winter Olympics.

Other incidents include a 2014 Ethiopian Airlines flight hijacked by its co-pilot seeking asylum in Geneva, a 2016 EgyptAir flight hijacked by a passenger with a fake explosive belt who landed in Cyprus, and a 2016 Afriqiyah Airways flight hijacked by pro-Gaddafi supporters in Libya, which landed in Malta with dummy grenades. In 2019, a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight ended with the hijacker being shot and killed by special forces. More recently, in 2021, Belarus "hijacked" a Ryanair flight to arrest an opposition activist, and in 2023, an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot attempted to disable engines on a flight to San Francisco, but was subdued by the crew.