Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Plane Denied Entry to Israel Over Indonesian Crew Member

By Вести-Ynet

Translated & summarized from Vesty by baba

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An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane was denied entry to Israel on October 13 because an Indonesian pilot, from a country with no diplomatic ties to Israel, was on board. The crew list was submitted late, and the plane was turned back to Ethiopia to replace the pilot. This follows a similar incident with a Flydubai flight, after which security checks were supposed to be improved.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane was denied entry to Israel on October 13 due to an Indonesian pilot.
Israel lacks diplomatic relations with Indonesia, making the pilot "undesirable."
The crew list was submitted after the plane departed, leading to the discovery.
The aircraft was forced to return to Ethiopia to replace the pilot.
The incident follows a similar security lapse with a Flydubai flight.

Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Plane Denied Entry to Israel Over Indonesian Crew Member — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane en route to Israel from Addis Ababa was denied entry into Israeli airspace on October 13. The decision was made after Israeli authorities discovered that one of the crew members was an Indonesian citizen. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Indonesia, and the pilot was therefore deemed "undesirable."

The list of the flight crew was reportedly submitted to Israel only after the plane had already departed. Upon review, the presence of the Indonesian pilot was flagged, leading to the aircraft being turned back. The plane subsequently returned to Ethiopia, where the Indonesian pilot was replaced by another crew member cleared for entry into Israel.

This incident follows a previous event involving a Flydubai aircraft, after which controls for arriving flight crews in Israel were reportedly tightened. However, the article notes that crew lists are still sometimes submitted only after departure, contrary to regulations.

In the earlier Flydubai incident, a pilot from Oman, a country with no diplomatic ties to Israel, was involved. Investigations revealed that crew lists were being checked haphazardly, with unclear responsibility for the process.

Tal Aviation, a company involved in cargo transport, stated that the flight in question was not under their control. They confirmed that no pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel were initially assigned to the flight. Once the "unapproved" crew member was identified, the flight was rerouted back to Addis Ababa to be re-staffed with compliant crew members. Tal Aviation also noted that this incident does not affect passenger flights from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv. The Ministry of Transport had not yet responded to requests for comment.