Indonesia condemns Israel for turning back Ethiopian Airlines flight over pilot's nationality
Ethiopian Airlines cargo freighters like those on flight ET3414, which had to dump fuel over the Red Sea and return to Addis Ababa after Israel barred its Indonesian-national pilot from operating the Tel Aviv-bound…Hamam al-Hammami, whose alleged axe attack on a FlyDubai captain on 30 September prompted Israel to ban crew from 12 countries, including Indonesia, from operating Israel-bound flights.
Israel turned back an Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight mid-journey after discovering an Indonesian pilot was aboard, in what appears to be the first enforcement of stricter crew entry rules imposed following the FlyDubai cockpit attack. The plane, already an hour out of Addis Ababa, dumped fuel over the sea before returning to replace the pilot and then set off again. Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said the ban violated international aviation principles, accusing Israel of screening crew "based only on their citizenship."
The FlyDubai incident that prompted the crackdown involved an Omani co-pilot who allegedly went after his captain with an axe and tried to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport on 30 September.
Israel has directed foreign airlines to bar crew nationals from Afghanistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Niger, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Venezuela from operating flights into the country.
Ethiopian Airlines called the incident a mistake, saying the airline had been unaware that the Indonesian pilot was barred from entering Israel.
