Israel turns back Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight over Indonesian pilot's nationality
An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight bound for Israel was forced to return to Addis Ababa after Israeli authorities refused it permission to land because one of its pilots was Indonesian.
Israel's Channel 13 News reported on Monday that the plane was travelling from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv when Israeli authorities discovered mid-flight that one of its pilots was an Indonesian citizen.
The plane was instructed to return to Ethiopia, where the Indonesian pilot was replaced by a pilot from a country whose nationals are permitted to fly to Israel, the Israeli news outlet Ynet reported.
The cargo flight subsequently continued to Tel Aviv and landed.
TAL Aviation, which represents Ethiopian Airlines in Israel, told the Israeli news site Ynet that the incident would not affect "passenger flights to Tel Aviv or from it to Addis Ababa".
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State-owned Ethiopian Airlines has continued operating flights to Israel despite Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, and attacks on Lebanon and Iran.
The airline recently announced plans to operate 26 flights a week between Addis Ababa and Tel Aviv.
Israelis to avoid Arab airlines, poll shows
Monday's incident comes less than two weeks after an Omani national serving as a co-pilot on a Flydubai flight bound for Ben Gurion Airport allegedly attempted to hijack the aircraft and crash it at Israel's main international airport.
According to reports, the pilot was apprehended by several Israeli passengers after the plane plunged 16,000 feet in 30 seconds following an altercation between him and the other pilot. The aircraft subsequently landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
On Friday, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said the Omani pilot had planned a suicide attack on Ben Gurion Airport.
Shamsi said security procedures had "revealed [no] indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot," according to Reuters.
Following the incident, Israel said it was barring pilots from countries it considers hostile or with which it has no diplomatic relations from landing in the country or crossing its airspace.
Israeli authorities published a list of 31 countries that would be affected, and also said the restrictions would apply to dual nationals.
The Transport Ministry has faced accusations of neglecting its responsibility to carry out proper security checks on flights.
The tighter restrictions have also heightened public concern over the nationalities of crew members operating flights to Israel.
More than 40 percent of Israelis said they preferred to fly with Israeli airlines or planned to avoid Arab and Muslim airlines, according to a poll published after the Flydubai incident by Israeli news outlet Mako.
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