Why is there a Muslim passenger? Israel forces Ethiopian Airline to turn back

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight had to turn back mid-air after Israel denied it landing permission due to the presence of an Indonesian national on board.

According to the Israeli newspaper Times of Israel, the cargo aircraft arrived in Israeli airspace on the night between Sunday and Monday from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, but was sent back instead of being allowed to land.

Israeli authorities did not officially give any reason for it. Still, according to several reports in the Hebrew media, Israel did not allow the aircraft to land because its crew included a citizen of Indonesia.

According to Israeli Channel 13, the list of crew members on board the flight was sent to Israeli authorities after the plane took off.

There are no diplomatic relations between Israel and Indonesia. When Israel found out through the list that an Indonesian citizen was present among the crew of the cargo plane, the aircraft was asked to return. 

So far, no comment has come from Israel and Ethiopia on the incident, while the Israeli media has also not provided much information about the crew member due to whom the flight was sent back.

It should be noted that an Omani co-pilot of a flydubai flight coming to Israel from the United Arab Emirates had tried to hijack the plane, which was foiled by the crew and passengers.

Israel also does not have diplomatic relations with Oman, but despite this, the Omani pilot was included in the flight. Since this incident, Israel has increased its focus on security screening of flight crews.

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