Omani national crew members do not follow the ban on flights to Israel
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kang Hoon-sang = The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 8th (local time) that Hamam Al-Hammami, the co-pilot who attempted to hijack a FlyDubai airliner bound for Israel, attempted to commit the crime once again in July.
According to reports, Alhammami, an Omani national, tried to get a job at the Moroccan airline Royal Air Morocco after being banned from flying at his previous employer, Oman Air, for allegedly leaning toward extremist ideology, but was rejected.
Afterwards, he searched for an airline operating routes to Israel, joined Fly Dubai, a low-cost airline in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in February, and tried to get assigned to the Dubai-Tel Aviv route.
He planned to overpower the captain of the plane and crash the aircraft into a target such as Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, and prepared to carry it out in July, but he hesitated to commit the crime because he cared for one of the flight attendants on the plane at the time, according to investigative officials.
Previously, the British daily Guardian also reported on the 5th that he tried to hijack a passenger plane in July, but gave up because a friend was on the plane.
Regarding the motive for the crime, Alhammami reportedly stated that it was due to the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Omani authorities investigated his online activities and found that he was overly interested in extremist ideology, and placed him in an internal position while requiring him to participate in an indoctrination program, but did not share this information.
Israeli authorities also received a list of flight passengers and crew members from flydubai in advance, but were unable to detect Alhammami. According to Israel's regulations, as pilots from countries with no established diplomatic ties, such as Oman, are prohibited from entering the country, he is not eligible to fly the Tel Aviv route.
WSJ pointed out that the Israeli Ministry of Transport, which is in charge of security for foreign airline flights to Israel, judged itself not responsible for verifying passengers and crew, and failed to verify the passenger list because it was not even aware that it had access to related data.
An official said, “Since the beginning of this year, more than 1,200 flight attendants from countries banned from operating on Israeli routes, such as Syria, Lebanon, and Oman, have entered Israel.”
WSJ pointed out, “Information has emerged that Al-Hammami has continuously focused on Israel and has made some long-term plans before committing the actual crime,” adding, “There are many clues that the authorities missed even though they could have prevented his flights and sensitive route assignments.”
On the 30th of last month, in the cockpit of a FlyDubai airliner flying to Tel Aviv from Dubai, UAE, Alhammami suddenly attacked the captain with an emergency ax and attempted to take control of the cockpit, but was overpowered by the crew and passengers and ended in an attempt.
