Indonesia slams Israel for barring Ethiopian Airlines flight over its pilot's nationality after FlyDubai hijack attempt
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…
Indonesia's Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel for ordering an Ethiopian Airlines cargo jet to turn back mid-flight because one of its pilots held Indonesian citizenship. Spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said restricting crew by nationality alone is "contrary to the non-discriminatory principle" of international aviation. The aircraft, flight ET3414, had to dump fuel over the Red Sea before returning to Addis Ababa, where the pilot was swapped and the plane resumed its journey to Tel Aviv.
The crackdown follows a 30 September FlyDubai hijacking attempt in which Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami allegedly attacked the captain with an axe to crash the jet into Ben Gurion Airport.
Israel now bans crew from 12 countries with no diplomatic ties, including Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, from operating Israel-bound flights.
Ethiopian Airlines said it had been unaware the pilot was barred, describing the incident as a mistake — the crew list was not sent to Israeli authorities until after takeoff.
