Netanyahu govt rejects flydubai bid to resume Israel flights after cockpit attack

Netanyahu govt says no to flydubai return after midair cockpit attack (Reuters file photo)

Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israel has declined flydubai's request to resume its flight operations to the country, a week after an Omani co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machchar midair on a Tel Aviv-bound flight. The attack put the lives of more than 170 people at risk. Flydubai had sought permission to resume its Israel operations, saying an investigation into the incident was nearing completion and that several employees had been fired, Israel-based Channel 13 reported. The incident involved Indian captain Smit Machchar and Omani co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami, who attacked the captain in the cockpit. Most of the more than 170 passengers on board were Israeli citizens. According to the report, officials from Israel’s transportation ministry have also been invited to visit Dubai next week. However, transportation minister Miri Regev has declined the airline’s request for now, the report said. Meanwhile, details of the injuries suffered by Machchar during the incident have emerged, highlighting the severity of the attack he faced while trying to keep the aircraft under control. The suicidal Omani co-pilot al-Hammami attacked Machchar with an axe kept in the cockpit, causing a "depressed fracture fragment of skull". Despite suffering severe injuries, the Indian pilot ensured the situation did not escalate and thwarted the Omani co-pilot’s alleged 9/11-style attack.

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