Transport Ministry Says It Relies on Airlines for Foreign Crew Security Checks

Transport Ministry security official Tamir Uri said at a Saturday evening briefing that his department receives airline declarations that pilots underwent security checks, rather than their names and individual security assessments. He said it works with airlines and competent authorities in their countries and received Flydubai’s declaration that its pilots were checked, but not the pilot’s name. Uri could not say how many pilots from hostile countries had previously arrived. Civil Aviation Authority director Shmuel Zakai distinguished aircraft-safety oversight from security agencies’ duties, saying the airline should not have approved the flight if the pilot held a passport from a country without diplomatic relations with Israel.