> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecontrail.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # After the flydubai Attack, Israel Will Vet Every Crew Before They Fly In - URL: https://www.thecontrail.org/flydubai-tel-aviv-suspended-israel-new-rules/ - Published: 2026-11-01T11:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-01T11:00:00.000Z - Description: flydubai's Tel Aviv flights are grounded for another month, and Israel is rolling out new rules that let it check pilots, cabin crew and foreign passengers before they ever board. Here's what changes. - Author: Zach Benitez - Tags: News, flydubai Is flydubai flying to Tel Aviv? Not for at least another month. The Dubai-based airline has reportedly extended its suspension of flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv until Nov. 30, more than two months after a co-pilot attacked his captain in the cockpit of a flight bound for Israel. At the same time, Israel has rolled out sweeping new security rules for every airline flying in and out of the country. Foreign airlines will reportedly have to hand over details on their pilots and cabin crew two days before a flight, and non-Israeli crew and passengers will have to fill out an online form that lets Israel's immigration authority stop them from boarding. --- ## What's Changing for Flights to Israel The new rules come from Israel's National Center for Passenger Information Data Analysis, a unit of the Israel Tax Authority, and were reportedly ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a security review of the flydubai attack. They cover flights in and out of Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international gateway near Tel Aviv. Here's what's been reported so far: - **Crew lists two days ahead.** Airlines must send their crew details 48 hours before departure, giving Israeli authorities time to run background checks. Any changes have to be in no later than two hours before takeoff, and a final crew list is due when the plane leaves. - **An online form for foreign crew and passengers.** Foreign airlines, along with Israeli airlines flying foreign-registered planes, have to complete an online form for their pilots, cabin crew and passengers. Non-Israeli travelers and crew have to submit it 48 hours before entering the country. - **Immigration can say no.** Israel's Population and Immigration Authority will review the forms and can approve or reject people boarding flights into, out of or through Israel. - **Closer checks on some countries.** Israeli media report that the Mossad and the Shin Bet, Israel's intelligence and internal security agencies, have flagged certain "red" countries whose travelers will face extra scrutiny. - **Security reaching overseas airports.** The Shin Bet, which until now oversaw security for Israeli airlines, will also handle security procedures for foreign airlines flying in and at the airports they depart from. Israel hasn't said when the rules take effect or what happens to an airline that doesn't comply, and it hasn't published the form itself yet. Those are the details travelers will need most, so expect them to come out over the next few weeks. Flying to Israel ยท New rules What Changes Before You Board 1**Crew lists 48 hours ahead.** Airlines must send pilot and cabin crew details two days before the flight. 2**An online form for foreign travelers.** Non-Israeli passengers and crew on foreign airlines submit it 48 hours before entering Israel. 3**Boarding can be refused.** Israel's immigration authority can approve or reject people flying in, out or through Israel. 4**flydubai is still out.** Dubai to Tel Aviv flights are reportedly suspended until at least Nov. 30. Booking a trip?Leave at least two days before departure to complete any forms your airline sends you. Contrail --- ## Why Israel Is Doing This The rules are a direct response to what happened on flydubai flight FZ1073\. On Sept. 30, the Boeing 737 MAX was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot, reportedly an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami, attacked Captain Smit Machchhar with the cockpit's emergency crash axe. UAE prosecutors later said he planned to take control of the plane and crash it into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion, in what they called a suicide operation. Machchhar was badly hurt but managed to open the cockpit door, and crew members and passengers rushed in and overpowered the co-pilot. Two off-duty pilots who happened to be on board, [Henson Steven of Fiji and Rowan Tooth of South Africa](https://www.thecontrail.org/the-two-off-duty-pilots-who-saved-flydubai-flight-fz1073-have-been-named/), then took over the controls and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Everyone on board survived, and a replacement plane later flew the passengers on to Tel Aviv. What's worried Israeli officials most is how the co-pilot ended up in that seat. He had reportedly been grounded by his previous airline, Oman Air, over extremist material, and was later hired by flydubai, where he flew the Tel Aviv route on and off. Israeli reports describe a system with no real oversight of how foreign airlines vet their pilots, no Israeli checks on foreign crews and crew lists that often arrived only after a plane had already taken off. There are also unconfirmed reports that around 1,240 crew members from countries that don't have diplomatic relations with Israel flew into the country over the past year. ## Know Before You Fly New travel rules, explained before they catch you at the airport. Free in your inbox. Get Contrail Free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- ## What It Means if You're Flying to Israel For most travelers, the biggest change is the paperwork. If you're not an Israeli citizen and you're flying in on a foreign airline, plan on filling out an online form at least two days before your trip, much like the electronic travel authorization Israel already requires from visitors from many countries. That could make last-minute travel harder, so if you're booking a trip to Israel, leave yourself a buffer and watch for an email from your airline explaining what it needs from you. Israeli passengers aren't expected to notice much, since most of the new checks fall on airlines and crews. Israel's own airlines, El Al, Arkia and Israir, aren't affected by flydubai's suspension, although Israeli airlines flying leased foreign planes are covered by the new form requirement. There's a small irony in the fact that the people now getting the closest look are the ones sitting up front, who for years were barely checked at all. If you were booked on flydubai between Dubai and Tel Aviv, your flight won't operate before December at the earliest. You should be able to get a refund or rebook, so contact flydubai or the agency you booked through rather than waiting for the airline to reach you. If you were connecting through Dubai to somewhere else, you'll need a different routing, and this is a good moment to check whether your new airline will need the Israeli form too. --- ## What Comes Next for flydubai Flydubai had been one of the main links between the Gulf and Israel since it started Tel Aviv flights in 2021, after the UAE and Israel established diplomatic relations. The Nov. 30 date came from Israeli media, and flydubai hasn't announced it publicly, so it could change in either direction. The UAE is leading the investigation into the attack, and the co-pilot is in UAE custody after Saudi authorities handed him over. Whenever flydubai does return, it'll be flying into a much stricter system. Every crew member it sends to Tel Aviv will have to be cleared by Israel first, and every foreign passenger will have filled out the form before they ever reach the gate. That's a lot of new process for a route that took one co-pilot to change, and for many passengers on that Sept. 30 flight, it'll probably feel overdue.