An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane was denied entry to Israeli airspace after authorities discovered that a pilot aboard was an Indonesian citizen, Ynet reported on Tuesday.
The aircraft, which departed Addis Ababa early Monday, turned back and dumped fuel into the sea, according to the report. The pilot was replaced in Ethiopia by one authorized to enter Israel.
Israel has no diplomatic relations with Indonesia. Israeli authorities received the crew list only after takeoff, despite instructions requiring foreign airlines to submit it beforehand.
The incident follows an attempted hijacking of a flydubai flight by an Omani pilot that prompted scrutiny of Israel’s procedures for screening foreign aircrews.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, was among the nations Jerusalem was working to add to the Abraham Accords in the months before the Hamas-led invasion of Oct. 7, 2023. Despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations, the countries have had unofficial connections in trade, technology and tourism.
In findings reported on Sunday by JNS, Emirati Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the Omani co-pilot behind the Sept. 30 flydubai attack had planned to crash the aircraft into the passenger terminal at Ben-Gurion Airport. The suspect, Hamam al-Hammami, had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to familiarize himself with the route and airport, according to the findings.
