Indonesia condemns Israel after Ethiopian Airlines flight with Indonesian pilot was barred from landing, amid reported crew restrictions

Indonesia has strongly condemned Israel after an Ethiopian Airlines flight with an Indonesian pilot was prevented from landing in Tel Aviv, local media reported. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said Wednesday that Jakarta rejects measures based on political considerations or nationality. She said flight authorities may set crew safety standards, but those standards must be objective, proportionate and risk-based; she added that Israel’s practice conflicts with non-discrimination principles and international aviation facilitation.

Israeli media reported that the flight from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv was told to turn back about an hour into its journey, while it was still in Ethiopian airspace. Channel 12 reported that the pilot’s nationality had been flagged to intelligence and airport authorities, after which security officials and the transportation ministry barred the aircraft from landing. It returned to Addis Ababa, where the pilot was replaced, then departed again and landed in Tel Aviv. Ethiopian Airlines called the incident a mistake and said it had not known the pilot was barred from operating flights to Israel.

Channel 12 also reported that Israeli authorities instructed foreign airlines not to assign crew members from countries without diplomatic ties with Israel to flights bound for the country. The report named Afghanistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Niger, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Venezuela.

The report said the incident followed a Sept. 30 flyDubai flight event in which United Arab Emirates prosecutors stated that an Omani co-pilot attempted to seize control of the aircraft and allegedly crash it into Ben Gurion Airport.