Israeli Transport Ministry Delegation Heads to UAE After flydubai Incident
A month and a half after the averted flydubai disaster, an Israeli transport ministry delegation is heading to the UAE to review investigation findings and discuss security arrangements.
A delegation from the Ministry of Transport will depart tomorrow, Sunday, for the United Arab Emirates, a month and a half after the averted disaster on a flydubai flight. Ministry Director-General Moshe Ben Zaken, security officials, and other personnel are scheduled to meet with local security and aviation authorities.
On Monday, the investigation into the attempted attack on the aircraft will be presented to the delegation. At the conclusion of the visit, the Ministry of Transport will decide whether the airline will resume its flights to Israel.
In addition, a meeting has been scheduled with senior executives of Dubai International Airport. Discussions are expected to address the return of Israeli airlines to the UAE and finding a solution to the security crisis that currently prevents Israeli carriers from flying to Dubai, ahead of the resumption of regular flights between Ben Gurion Airport and the Gulf state.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Defense determined that the passengers of the flight, which the co-pilot attempted to crash, will be recognized as victims of hostilities. The Ministry of Defense stated that upon receiving official confirmation from the authorized investigative bodies in Israel, the approval authority officially recognized the attempted attack on the flydubai flight as an act of hostility.
On the morning of Wednesday, September 30, 2026, flydubai flight FZ1073, carrying 174 passengers from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport, became the site of an attempted aerial attack. About an hour before the scheduled landing, Omani co-pilot Hammam al-Hamami attacked Indian captain Sumit Machahar with an emergency axe in the cockpit and manipulated the controls in an attempt to crash the aircraft inside Israeli territory, triggering a sharp dive of about 17,000 feet in under a minute.
While the wounded captain managed to transmit distress and hijacking signals that scrambled Israeli Air Force fighter jets under World Trade Center protocols, Israeli passengers and crew members broke into the cockpit and successfully subdued the attacker with bare hands. Immediately afterward, a reserve pilot on board took command and safely landed the aircraft in Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was arrested and the incident was classified by authorities in the UAE and Israel as a terrorist attack.
