Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, the pilot who attempted to hijack an Israel-bound flydubai flight, was hired by the airline during a push by the United Arab Emirates-based carrier to expand its pilot staff, according to a Wall Street Journal report published on Tuesday.
The report came after it was alleged that Hammami had previously been banned from flying by Omani authorities over concerns regarding his radical ideological views and that flydubai may have hired him in February without conducting thorough background checks.
According to the WSJ, the airline’s recruitment spree began after the COVID-19 pandemic, as the carrier worked to expand its model of providing low-cost, high-volume flights amid an industry-wide shortage of pilots.
Flydubai launched recruitment initiatives, lowered requirements for some pilot programs
Flydubai’s total number of employees reportedly swelled from 3,682 at the end of 2012 to 6,763 by the end of 2025. Around 1,500 pilots were employed at flydubai at the time of the attempted hijacking.
Over the past three years, flydubai launched several initiatives to increase hiring, including recruitment events in Italy, Ireland, and Poland. Last year, the airline launched a new training program for pilots aged 18 to 30, opened a 38,000-square-foot flight training center in Dubai, and began a cadet program to train foreign pilots, according to the WSJ.
It also lowered the required flight hours for individuals applying for a junior, second-officer pilot program, while increasing salaries offered to new captains and first officers.
According to the report, flydubai categorizes airports by difficulty, allowing pilots without major experience to fly routes to easier destinations. Pilots told the WSJ that Ben-Gurion Airport was considered to be among the network’s most desirable trips, despite security sensitivities.
While the WSJ could not establish how Hammami was assigned the flight to Tel Aviv, it noted that authorities and aviation industry insiders are questioning whether flydubai’s hiring process may have contributed to the circumstances that allowed the first officer access to the sensitive route.
