In November 2020, Flydubai announced that it would begin direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai. According to the Jerusalem News Syndicate (JNS), the aviation agreement between the two countries required that pilots flying to Israel must hold passports from countries that have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. It appears that the agreement was not honored on a recent flight where a hijacking was attempted.
On September 30, JNS reported:
The pilot of a passenger plane flying to Israel was stabbed several times by his co-pilot in the cockpit early Wednesday, according to officials — causing the aircraft to plunge 18,000 feet in what was feared to be a “terrorist attack in mid-air.”
The FlyDubai Boeing 737 Max 8 plane flying to Tel Aviv from the United Arab Emirates was cruising at around 34,000 feet when one of the pilots tried to take control in what Israeli sources say was an attempted hijacking, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“One pilot stabbed the other and tried to do 9/11,” an official told Channel 12 of the horror that saw Israeli fighter jets scrambled as a precaution.
…The co-pilot apparently stabbed the captain several times before crew members and passengers managed to enter the cockpit door and overpower him, according to Segal (Israeli journalist Amit Segal).
“An extremely serious disaster was averted,” Segal quoted a senior Israeli official as saying.
The co-pilot was being questioned, as indications mounted that he intended to take control of the aircraft and crash it with the passengers on board, according to the official.
The article notes:
Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev demanded that all flydubai flights to Israel be suspended following the suspected terrorist attack aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, according to Hebrew media reports.
Regev also asked the country’s Civil Aviation Authority to investigate whether the United Arab Emirates violated its aviation agreement with Israel. Under the agreement, pilots flying to Israel must hold passports from countries that have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
The co-pilot has been identified in unconfirmed reports as an Omani national. Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Oman.
Thank God there were two pilots who were traveling as passengers and were able to take control and stabilize the aircraft after the attacker was subdued.