In a recent development two more flydubai pilots have been arrested by Dubai authorities on suspicion of terror attack. Both are reported to have flown to Israel in the past. The fresh arrest comes amidst the ongoing investigation in connection to the mid-air cockpit attack and threat quashed by Indian co-pilot Smit Machchar on a flight enroute Tel Aviv from Dubai.
The two were reportedly taken into custody by police last Saturday. As the probe deepend the duo have been identified as residents of Maldives.
As per the reports, they are the most recent recruits among the six Maldivian pilots currently at flydubai. Reports say they had worked alongside Hamam al-Hammami, the Omani co-pilot accused of trying to crash the Israel bound plane on 30 September.
So far there has been no official announcement of the arrest by the President’s Office Spokesperson, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson.
Earlier, on October 9th Counsellor Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, Attorney-General of the UAE, announced that the Public Prosecution’s investigation into the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073, which was scheduled to travel from Dubai to Tel Aviv on 30 September 2026, revealed that the aircraft’s Omani co-pilot had begun carrying out a premeditated terrorist plot to seize control of the aircraft and use it to launch a suicide attack targeting the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life.