Omani Pilot Who Attempted Ben Gurion Hijacking Trained in UK, New Zealand

The Omani pilot who attempted to hijack a Flydubai flight en route to Israel and crash it at Ben Gurion Airport, Haitham Al-Hajjam, received his professional flight training in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. According to a report in the British "Telegraph," Al-Hajjam studied at the L3 Airline Academy between 2018 and 2019. His training program spanned both countries, involving theoretical studies in England, practical flight training in New Zealand, and advanced stages back in the UK.

New Zealand police confirmed that Al-Hajjam was in the country on a student visa for six months, from November 2018 to May 2019. Prior to his flight training, from 2015 to 2017, he studied engineering at RMIT University in Australia but left without completing his degree.

Concurrently with his professional training abroad, Al-Hajjam developed extremist religious views. In a since-deleted Twitter account, he wrote in 2022 that his five years of study abroad were "the golden years of my religious commitment," claiming he became less devout after returning to Oman. The account also contained conservative statements regarding women and references to his time in Britain, including a post specifying that a woman wishing to marry him would need to convert to Islam and wear a hijab.

Ultimately, his professional training and his developed religious ideology culminated in the foiled attack, which was reportedly inspired by the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States.