Israel turned a plane around in mid-air - what was discovered on board

Israel turned a cargo plane from Ethiopia around after an Indonesian citizen was discovered among the crew members. The incident occurred against the backdrop of tightened controls following an aviation security failure, when it emerged that crew data was not being properly checked.

Israel turned around a cargo plane that had been flying from Ethiopia after a preliminary crew check discovered an Indonesian citizen - a national of a country that has no diplomatic relations with Israel. The incident became one of the first public examples of the enhanced screening introduced after a serious failure in the aviation security system. According to Channel 13, a procedure for transmitting crew data previously existed but did not undergo the necessary verification: the lists arrived on a Tax Authority server, but the Ministry of Transport did not carry out systematic oversight. The Shin Bet was not responsible for checking foreign crews, and the Mossad became involved only at the request of the Transport Ministry. The problem came to light after an incident on a FlyDubai flight, where the second pilot, an Omani citizen, tried to carry out a suicide attack. After that it emerged that during the war planes with crew members from countries without diplomatic relations had repeatedly arrived in Israel. Against this backdrop, the airlines Arkia and Israir began checking foreign crews on their own. The very fact of Indonesian citizenship does not indicate involvement in unlawful activity - the basis was non-compliance with clearance requirements.