Air France, United Airlines and Smartwings have moved to comply with Israeli restrictions barring airline crew members of certain nationalities from operating flights to and from Tel Aviv, bringing renewed attention to nationality-based rules governing international aviation.
Pakistan is among 29 countries whose nationals could be barred from operating such flights under the restrictions, according to aviation intelligence company ch-aviation. The list includes countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, with the rules reportedly covering crew members holding either the nationality or dual nationality of the countries concerned.
The move towards stricter enforcement follows an alleged attempted terror attack involving an Omani co-pilot aboard a FlyDubai flight on September 30, according to reports. Oman is among the countries whose nationals are covered by the restrictions.
French investigative publication Mediapart and ch-aviation reported on October 13 that Air France and United Airlines had communicated the restrictions to their flight and cabin crew.
While Air France confirmed that it was complying with the Israeli requirements, United Airlines has reportedly incorporated the rules into its crew-planning procedures.
Smartwings, the largest airline based in the Czech Republic, has also confirmed that it will comply with the restrictions, although it said its crew assignments and operations had not been affected so far.
According to ch-aviation, an internal United Airlines scheduling memo identifies 29 countries whose nationals may be restricted from operating flights to and from Tel Aviv.
The countries are Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Comoros, Cuba, Djibouti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Venezuela and Yemen.
The restrictions reportedly apply to crew members holding the nationality, or dual nationality, of the countries on the list. The rules could therefore affect both pilots and cabin crew assigned to services connecting with Israel.
Although the restrictions predate the September 30 FlyDubai incident, they were reportedly not consistently enforced. Israeli authorities had largely relied on foreign airlines to ensure that crew members from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel were not assigned to the relevant flights.
According to reports, Israel's domestic security service, Shin Bet, did not routinely verify the nationalities of airline crew members. The Transportation Ministry had also acknowledged limitations in its intelligence infrastructure for systematically monitoring airline crew rosters.
This reportedly allowed pilots from countries including Oman, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Lebanon to operate flights into Tel Aviv for years despite the existing guidelines.
The latest enforcement push has prompted airlines to review their crew assignments and internal scheduling procedures to ensure compliance with Israeli requirements.
