After Flydubai: Israel changes security procedures at Ben Gurion Airport

Following the attempted attack on a Flydubai flight, Transportation Minister Miri Regev is promoting a new security mechanism at Ben Gurion Airport that includes submitting passenger and crew details 48 hours in advance, a list of high-risk destinations, and pre-departure checks. In letters she sent to the head of the National Security Council, Regev reveals budgetary and organizational disputes surrounding the transfer of aviation security responsibility from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of Transportation.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev is promoting a comprehensive change in security procedures at Ben Gurion Airport following the attempted attack on a Flydubai flight. In letters she sent to the head of the National Security Council, Regev reveals a plan that includes several steps: a list of high-security-risk destinations to be formulated by the Mossad and Shin Bet; a requirement for airlines to submit the names of passengers and crew members on flights from those destinations 48 hours in advance; and activation of the mechanism starting this coming Sunday. The minister requested to receive the list of destinations by Thursday. The move comes against the backdrop of data revealed in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to which 1,240 aircrew members holding citizenship of countries that do not maintain relations with Israel - including Syria, Lebanon and Oman - arrived in Israel in the past year. The data raised questions about the information transferred to Israel about crews of foreign airlines. From Regev's letters, an ongoing dispute emerges over the division of responsibility for aviation security. In June 2026, Regev announced that responsibility for securing charter flights would be placed on the Security Division of the Ministry of Transportation, following a cabinet decision from December 2025. Now, almost four months later, she writes that without 40 million shekels and ten positions, the ministry has no ability to implement the decision. The gap between the declaration of "full and immediate implementation" in June and the current budgetary demand remains unexplained in the letters.