An Israeli airline El Al aircraft parked on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport near the city of Lod on Oct 2, 2026. (Credit: JACK Guez/AFP)
At least 1,240 airline crew members from states that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, including Lebanon, Syria, and Oman, landed in the country in 2026, according to information revealed during a meeting of an Israeli parliamentary committee, obtained by Haaretz.
This figure was disclosed Tuesday evening in the wake of an attempted attack by an Omani co-pilot on a flydubai flight to Israel, and after a former employee at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv said last weekend that she "checked in crew members, pilots and flight attendants with Lebanese, Syrian, and other passports" at the counter, in an interview aired Sunday by Israel's Channel 12. Israeli law prohibits entry into the country for any national of a state that does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
According to Haaretz, Israeli authorities are also considering the possibility that Iranian nationals have entered the country.
The United Arab Emirates' investigation — joined by members of Israel's internal security service according to Haaretz — into last Wednesday's attempted hijacking of the flydubai flight, confirmed a plan for a terrorist attack. Media reports say he intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport "to avenge Israel for the war in Gaza."
Israeli authorities normally receive, two days before takeoff, lists with the names of the crew members entering Israel, so they can be vetted. However, the Omani co-pilot’s name was not flagged. Several government sources indicated in this context that the entry of the flydubai flight attacker could have been prevented if the system had been changed, notably by transferring responsibility to the Civil Aviation Authority. A source at the Ministry of Transport told Haaretz that these lists "have not been thoroughly checked for at least two years," and that the ministry only relies on "sworn declarations provided by foreign airlines."