Australia probes whether Flydubai axe attacker Hamam al-Hammami was radicalised during Australian student years
From the Newshound archive · first published 3 October 2026 · last updated 4 October 2026.
The injured Omani co-pilot, who Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had undergone "Islamic radical indoctrination" and was suicidal, with Israel probing whether the attack was state-sponsored.
Australian counter-terrorism investigators are examining whether Hamam al-Hammami, 29, the Omani co-pilot who attacked a FlyDubai captain with a crash axe on a Tel Aviv-bound flight, was radicalised during two years spent studying in Australia. Al-Hammami had been granted a student visa in 2014, arrived in 2015, and left in 2017, with his visa cancelled in 2019 after authorities found he had left his course. The Australian Federal Police confirmed its investigation involves Victoria Police, the AFP's counter-terrorism team, and the national security agency ASIO.
Al-Hammami had already been barred from flying by Oman Air in 2024 after the airline found he had been visiting radical Islamic websites.
FlyDubai reportedly failed to check with Oman Air before hiring him — a lapse now at the centre of the UAE's terror investigation.
Three years before the attack, al-Hammami posted Al Qaeda leader videos and cockpit footage zooming in on Israeli airline planes, investigators say.
