New details emerged Sunday evening about the events leading up to the flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel where the hijacking attempt took place. According to a report by the Associated Press, regional officials claim the United Arab Emirates provided Israel with passenger and crew information in advance for those scheduled to be on the plane.
1+According to the officials, the information transferred included the nationalities of passengers and crew members. The report also claims that Israeli authorities did not issue any warnings to the Emirates regarding anyone on the list. AP did not specify in its report which Israeli agency received the information, how it was reviewed, or whether the details were passed to relevant security officials for examination.
The report takes on special significance given details that emerged after the incident about the co-pilot, the suspect in the hijacking attempt. According to published reports, he is an Omani citizen. However, the mere transfer of crew details to Israel does not establish that authorities had advance information pointing to his intentions or that he posed a threat.
1+Likewise, the claim that Israel issued no warnings about any crew members does not in itself indicate what information was in its possession before the flight, what checks were conducted, or whether the co-pilot’s nationality should have—according to protocols in effect—led to preventing him from boarding a flight to Israel.
The disclosure adds to questions being examined following the hijacking attempt, including how crew members on flights arriving in Israel are vetted and what information is shared between airlines, countries of origin, and Israeli authorities. At this stage, these are claims made by regional sources to AP, and no official documentation has been published confirming all details of the report.