Shin Bet Warned of Aviation Flaws, Minister Regev Ignored Warnings

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) issued multiple warnings in recent months regarding deficiencies in the inspection of flights operated by foreign companies for Israeli airlines, but the recommendation to transfer oversight to the Civil Aviation Authority was not adopted by the Minister of Transport, Miri Regev. Three separate documents were sent to Regev, the Ministry of Transport, and the National Security Council, detailing that the Ministry of Transport had not established a risk assessment mechanism for lease companies and had not fulfilled its responsibility in inspecting them. The Shin Bet recommended that Regev transfer the handling of these leased flights to the Civil Aviation Authority, a recommendation she did not accept. A senior security official stated that the minister's decision-making considerations were not objective. The warnings specifically addressed "wet lease" flights, where passengers buy tickets from an Israeli airline, but the aircraft and foreign crew are operated by an external company. These flights, according to the Shin Bet, were not being inspected as required. The article also notes that Israeli authorities recently received investigation reports from the UAE and Saudi Arabia concerning an incident on a Flydubai flight, which indicated the co-pilot meticulously planned to crash the plane in Israel.