FlyDubai has fired a “significant number” of employees following an internal investigation into the security failures surrounding the attempted attack aboard one of its flights to Israel, while Israeli authorities are simultaneously moving to establish tougher screening procedures for foreign passengers and airline crews.

The developments mark the latest fallout from the extraordinary incident aboard the FlyDubai flight, in which the Omani co-pilot attacked the captain while the aircraft was en route to Tel Aviv, triggering a struggle for control of the plane before passengers intervened and the aircraft was ultimately landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

According to a Channel 13 report, FlyDubai’s CEO and senior officials in the United Arab Emirates have informed Israeli authorities that the airline has completed its internal investigation into the incident.

The investigation reportedly uncovered a series of failures in the airline’s security and personnel-screening systems. As a result, FlyDubai dismissed a “significant number” of employees who were involved in the areas where the failures occurred.

The findings have taken on particular significance amid reports that the Omani co-pilot had previously raised security concerns while employed by Oman Air. He had reportedly been removed from flying duties there amid concerns over his conduct and interest in radical ideology, yet was subsequently hired by FlyDubai and allowed to operate flights to Israel.

Following completion of the investigation and the disciplinary measures taken by the airline, FlyDubai asked Transportation Minister Miri Regev to authorize the resumption of its flights to Israel.

Israeli officials, however, are moving beyond the measures taken internally by FlyDubai and are working on a broader overhaul of the security-screening system for foreign airline personnel flying into the country.

According to a Channel 12 report, proposed changes were presented during a classified meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s intelligence subcommittee, headed by MK Boaz Bismuth.

One of the central proposals calls for Israel to establish a list of countries considered to pose an elevated security threat. The National Security Council is expected to work with the Mossad and Shin Bet in determining which countries will be included.

Under the proposed system, when airline crew members from one of those countries are scheduled to fly to Israel, their identifying information would have to be submitted to Israeli authorities 48 hours before the flight.

That advance notice would give Israeli intelligence and security agencies time to examine the crew members’ backgrounds and determine whether they should be permitted to operate a flight entering Israeli airspace.

Israel is also preparing to change the way it handles passengers and crew members carrying passports from countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

At the request of the Transportation Ministry, the Population and Immigration Authority is expected to provide lists of those individuals to the ministry’s security division so that their information can undergo additional review.

Officials also clarified the division of responsibility for screening foreign travelers. The Population and Immigration Authority, working through the National Security Council, is responsible for examining the passports of passengers and airline crew members and transmitting relevant information to the appropriate security agencies.

The changes come after revelations that more than 1,200 airline crew members holding passports from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel — including Syria, Lebanon and Oman — entered Israel during 2026.

The FlyDubai incident exposed potentially serious gaps in that system, particularly because the Omani co-pilot had reportedly flown to Israel on previous occasions despite the concerns that had surfaced during his earlier employment.

Israeli officials are now seeking to create a system in which potentially sensitive information reaches security agencies before an aircraft departs for Israel rather than relying on checks conducted after foreign crew members have already been assigned to the flight.

The proposed 48-hour advance screening mechanism, combined with the identification of high-risk countries and closer scrutiny of passports from states without diplomatic ties to Israel, is intended to prevent a repeat of the failures exposed by the FlyDubai attack.

{Matzav.com}