Israel's Aviation Security Wing Crippled by Staff Shortages and Neglect

Israel's Security, Emergency, and Cyber Department within the Ministry of Transportation, a critical body for national aviation security, is reportedly operating with severe deficiencies. This comes to light following an incident where a known extremist pilot flew a Flydubai plane into Israel. The department is responsible for overseeing Israel's air, sea, and land spaces, but is currently understaffed, underfunded, and experiencing a lack of operational discussions. Established to centralize security responses and emergency preparedness following state comptroller reports highlighting coordination and oversight gaps in transportation infrastructure security, the department has struggled to fulfill its mandate.

Sources close to the ministry's management describe a situation of detachment and a lack of managerial attention, leading to accumulated frustration. "The department did fail in its responsibility, but it's also because this ministry simply doesn't allow good and professional people to work," a former senior ministry official told Ynet. He added that attempts to raise alarms and implement changes have been met with resistance, with the head of the department, Avri Cohen, trying for years to upgrade the aviation security monitoring center (Maml"t). Discussions about transferring this body to the Shin Bet or Mossad have yielded no results, and numerous professional discussions have been canceled because they do not interest the director-general or the minister.

Data reveals a continuous decline in personnel within the department. Between 2022 and 2025, eight employees left, including key coordination and control staff, and operational students, without being replaced. The department's official staffing level for 2025-2024 was reduced to 19, with six of those positions designated for part-time students and seniors. Furthermore, at least two senior positions, including cyber defense and emergency preparedness, are vacant due to a lack of budget. In practice, the department relies on only about ten full-time permanent employees to manage the security and emergency systems for all of Israel's transportation sectors.

Adding to the concerns, it was reported that Avri Cohen, the head of the department, also holds a paid position as a security officer abroad for Israeli airlines, a role he claims to have received approval for in 2018. This dual role, involving several days abroad at a time, is seen as highly unusual given the department's critical responsibilities. The Ministry of Transportation stated that Cohen received approval from the then-management in 2018. The ministry also claims it lacks the intelligence tools to conduct background checks on flight crews and passengers, stating that its procedures are based on threat assessments from security bodies and that the responsibility for the Flydubai incident lies with the airline, which allegedly failed to provide the crew list and adhere to background check commitments.