Ethiopian Airlines Plane Returns to Addis Ababa After Crew Member Identified

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane was denied entry to Israel and forced to return to Addis Ababa early Tuesday morning after a crew member from Indonesia, a country with which Israel has no diplomatic relations, was identified.

The list of crew names was received by the system only after the plane had already taken off. Unlike a previous averted terror incident on a Flydubai flight, this time the system flagged the unusual presence.

Separately, a meeting between UAE officials and senior Israeli Ministry of Transport officials, scheduled for this week, was canceled. The findings of an investigation into an attempted terror attack on a Flydubai flight were not presented to Israeli officials. The Ministry of Transport has completed its initial investigation into the near-disaster, but many details remain unclear. Two conflicting versions exist regarding the meeting's cancellation: one suggests the UAE did not want the meeting to be perceived as political upon learning of Transportation Minister Miri Regev's potential attendance, while the other claims the minister requested the cancellation. The immediate consequence of the cancellation is that the UAE airline will not be able to resume flights to Israel, and Israeli airlines will not return to the UAE, leaving the Tel Aviv-Dubai route inactive.

Israeli airlines are proactively conducting background checks on pilots of chartered aircraft, even before the final conclusions of the Flydubai investigation are released. One airline has hired an Israeli cybersecurity firm to vet foreign crew members on chartered flights, scanning social media content and statements of 2,500 pilots and flight attendants.

The co-pilot had undergone radicalization while studying in Australia in 2017 and worked for various airlines before joining Flydubai in January 2026. His hiring reportedly met professional and security requirements.

In a related development, a senior Ministry of Transport official and several other employees have provided testimony to the National Fraud Investigation Unit (LAHAV 433) regarding potential conflicts of interest. This follows a report that Avri Cohen, head of the Security Department, allegedly received authorization in 2018 to work privately for the airlines he oversees. The Ministry initially claimed Cohen had permission from the "then-management," referring to former Director General Keren Turner. However, the Civil Service Commission stated they neither approved nor were aware of Cohen's private work, which under civil service regulations requires special approval for senior officials.