Transport Ministry: We Do Not Screen Foreign Pilots' Security Backgrounds

Israel's Ministry of Transport admitted that it does not conduct security background checks on pilots of foreign airlines and relies solely on declarations submitted by the carriers, TheMarker and i24NEWS reported. The ministry noted that current aviation security protocols do not account for a scenario in which a pilot carries out a terror attack.

According to reports by ynet and Kan 11, Israel received the passenger and crew manifest of the flydubai flight in advance, but the Ministry of Transport stated that it is not an intelligence agency and that its passenger data collection center is not operational. It was also reported that the ministry had not retrieved data for two years, even though security agencies, including the Shin Bet and the police, also have access to the information.