What pilots' social media hide: Israel launches investigation

An Israeli airline, without waiting for decisions from the Ministry of Transport, Shin Bet, and Mossad, has commissioned a cybersecurity company to check the social media of about 2,500 foreign pilots and flight attendants working on leased aircraft. The check began amid security concerns following the Flydubai incident.

One Israeli airline decided to independently check foreign crews of leased aircraft, without waiting for decisions from the Ministry of Transport, Shin Bet, and Mossad. A cybersecurity company will analyze posts and comments on social media of about 2,500 pilots and flight attendants. The check began amid a series of serious security flaws revealed after an attempted terrorist attack on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The article explains the "wet lease" scheme, where an aircraft is rented together with its crew, and notes that such flights do not fall under Shin Bet security requirements, including armed guards, missile defense systems, and special passenger screening. Israeli airlines, especially charter carriers Israir and Arkia, heavily depend on such leases: in July, 70% of Arkia's flights and 56% of Israir's flights were operated on leased aircraft. Israir stated that security rules for such flights were previously approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Local media report that security forces have warned for years about the Ministry of Transport's inability to inspect foreign airlines, to which the ministry responded by citing a lack of intelligence apparatus.