Has the Fly Dubai flight incident led to tighter screening of airline crews coming to Israel? A pilot at United Airlines will not be allowed to fly routes to Israel after information about him was passed to security officials and the Transportation Ministry. The move follows social media posts in which the pilot allegedly expressed support for the Iranian regime and organizations linked to it. The information was forwarded by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, prompting a review by relevant authorities.
The pilot in question is Sina Amjadian, who is of Iranian origin. According to posts by users on X, he allegedly shared content expressing support for the Iranian regime, the Revolutionary Guards, and Hezbollah. However, at this stage there is no independent verification of the claims, and the posts on which they are based are not original statements by the pilot that were presented to Israeli security officials. Therefore, a distinction must be made between the information passed to authorities and claims that have not yet been independently verified.
The formal referral was made on October 19, when Avi Cohen Scali, director general of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, sent a letter to Shin Bet chief David Zini and Transportation Ministry director general Moshe Ben Zaken. The letter flagged the information that had emerged about the pilot and requested it be brought to the attention of those responsible. Copies were also sent to Israel Airports Authority director general Sharon Kadmi and other senior officials, amid concerns about possible implications for aviation security to Israel.
The referral comes after an unusual incident that occurred in late September on a Fly Dubai flight to Israel, in which, according to reports, the co-pilot attacked the captain and tried to take control of the aircraft. Following that case, officials decided to expand the monitoring activities of the National Control and Oversight Center for Combating Antisemitism to include tracking information about individuals who could pose a risk to aviation. The incident raised questions about how potential threats related to crew members at airlines operating routes to Israel are assessed.
As part of the information passed to authorities, two posts published on X were attached. One claimed that Amjadian previously worked at Fly Dubai and that he posted a video in which he kissed the symbol of the Iranian regime and saluted it. Another post claimed he expressed support for the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah, along with a call for United to investigate the matter. It’s important to emphasize that these claims have not been independently verified, and it cannot be determined based on the posts alone whether they reflect the pilot’s positions.