Transport Ministry rejected Shin Bet help in securing flights before flydubai hijacking - report

Despite agreeing last year to take responsibility for securing foreign flights, the Transportation Ministry failed to allocate or use additional resources for the task, Army Radio reported Tuesday morning, less than a week after the flydubai attempted hijacking.

The report also claims the ministry rejected or stalled several attempts by the National Security Council (NSC), Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the Finance Ministry to help it carry out the task.

The ministry, headed by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, agreed to accept responsibility for the task as part of discussions held with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Security Cabinet, and defense officials in mid-2025.

Shin Bet attempts to assist waved off by Transport Ministry

As part of the discussions, it was suggested that an official from the Shin Bet would serve as the ministry's "head intelligence officer" and assist in the security analysis and assessment of both foreign and charter flights entering Israel, Army Radio reported, citing three sources familiar with the discussions.

Ministry officials opposed the suggestion, Army Radio said, citing one source who said Avri Cohen, the head of the Transportation Ministry's Security, Emergency and Cyber Division, led the opposition to the plan because he feared Shin Bet personnel would "intervene" in his department's work.

Another proposal made to the ministry involved the training of its officials on aviation security, the classification of airports around the world, aviation security assessments, airport security plans, and threat modeling by the Shin Bet. It was further proposed that the Shin Bet share operational methods, tools, and ideas with the ministry to help it fulfill its responsibility for securing foreign and charter flights.

The ministry failed to implement any of the actions suggested by the security agency.

Ministry did not use funds, positions given to secure foreign flights

The Army Radio report also noted that the Transportation Ministry received some NIS 10 million, and 10 new positions to fill within the ministry, to carry out said tasks. According to sources cited by Army Radio, the ministry has not filled a single position.

The report comes less than a week after flydubai Flight FZ1073, en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was the target of an attempted terror attack after its Omani co-pilot stabbed the captain and attempted to take control of the aircraft, which was carrying 166 Israeli passengers, as well as others.

The passengers and crew members subdued the co-pilot, while the wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door and allow others to intervene. The plane subsequently made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The incident has since triggered scrutiny in Israel over who was responsible for vetting foreign pilots and securing foreign flights entering Israel. The Transportation Ministry has denied responsibility for conducting intelligence background checks on foreign crews, while information that has come to light since the incident has shown the ministry is responsible for overseeing foreign airlines' security procedures.

In a statement given to Army Radio, the Transport Ministry explained that "as part of the budget discussions, and in light of the ministry's additional responsibility for charter flights, the ministry demanded additional funding and positions in the aforementioned amount as a condition for accepting the additional responsibility.

"Unfortunately," the ministry continued, "and despite a written commitment from the Finance Ministry in the budget agreement and repeated requests from us to honor the agreements, the funding and positions have not yet been received. Therefore, the claim that the ministry received the resources about a year ago and failed to act to utilize them is incorrect."

On Sunday, Netanyahu instructed NSC Head Shmuel Ben-Ezra to appoint an overseer to conduct a thorough review of all security aspects regarding foreign civil aviation to Israel.