Israel's Aviation Security Flaws Exposed After Flydubai Incident

An attempted terror attack on a Flydubai flight to Israel has highlighted significant security lapses and a blame game among Israeli authorities regarding the vetting of foreign flight crews. The incident, involving an Omani pilot, Maim Al-Hamami, has prompted calls for an urgent redefinition of responsibilities for screening foreign crews landing in Israel.

Formally, the Ministry of Transportation's Aviation Security Department and its Operations Center for Aviation Security (Malat) are responsible for approving foreign airlines' security compliance. However, the Ministry claims it lacks intelligence capabilities to vet foreign pilots and crew. The Shin Bet is responsible for the security of Israeli airlines. A 2023 law requires all airlines to submit passenger and crew data to Israel as part of visa waiver agreements with the US. This data is processed by the National Passenger Data Analysis Center (Malalan) at the Tax Authority, with access also granted to the Mossad, Shin Bet, and police for counter-terrorism purposes, and to the Ministry of Transportation.

Despite Flydubai's commitment to use pilots only from countries with diplomatic ties to Israel, this was violated. The Ministry of Transportation claims it did not receive crew lists from the Tax Authority, while the Mossad also states it did not receive the lists, even though they were accessible. Minister of Transportation Miriam Regev initially blamed the Mossad, but the intelligence agency maintains it did not receive or was not supposed to receive the pilot lists. The Tax Authority, which received the full list, focuses on financial crimes rather than terrorism.

The State Comptroller, Matanyahu Engelman, issued a report in May 2024 detailing deficiencies in international aviation security, recommending a joint effort by multiple ministries and agencies to examine all aspects of aviation security, including inbound foreign flights. However, the National Security Council, which was supposed to lead this effort, has not acted, and no agency has taken full responsibility.

Sources indicate that crew data was not actively pulled for review by the relevant Ministry of Transportation unit for approximately two years. This suggests the incident may not be the first time a crew member from a country without diplomatic ties to Israel has entered the country without scrutiny. The Ministry of Transportation's Security Department, responsible for security assessments of foreign flights, has stated it relies on foreign companies' declarations and lacks the resources for independent background checks of all foreign personnel. The Civil Aviation Authority acknowledged that while they estimate no hostile nationals have landed, there is no absolute certainty, stating, "There is no 100% in security, only if we stop aviation will everything be secure."