Flydubai Hijacker Identified as Omani Pilot with Radical Ties
Omani pilot Hamam al-Hammami, linked to radical views, attempted to hijack a Tel Aviv-bound flight.
2 min read
Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani citizen, has been identified as the suspect in the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv. According to CNN, Israeli officials and Saudi state media have confirmed his identity. Al-Hammami, born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and Syrian mother, spent several years of his life there before moving to Oman.
LinkedIn Profile and Education
CNN reviewed a LinkedIn profile under the name Hamam al-Hammami that stated he worked at Oman Air for seven years before joining Royal Air Maroc. The profile, now deleted, mentioned his studies at Buckinghamshire New University in England, where he completed a three-year distance-learning course and graduated with a degree in aviation management in 2023.
Religious and Personal Posts
A deleted X account portrayed al-Hammami as “deeply religious and misogynistic.” In some of his posts, he reportedly complained about his mother’s struggle to find a bride willing to wear a niqab and give up her job upon marriage. One post from February 2022 said, “They all refused. Then my mother told them, ‘My son is a pilot,’ and they all suddenly agreed.”
Security Concerns and Employment
Al-Hammami was previously removed from flight duties at Oman’s national airline due to concerns about his radical ideological views, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Despite this, he was later hired by Flydubai, allowing him to fly the route between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. The Journal noted it could not determine whether Oman shared its concerns with other airlines or countries.
Analysts and Government Response
Aviation-security analysts told CNN that the incident exposed potential security failures. Even if a screening lapse allowed a weapon through, they said, a motivated assailant should have been stopped before reaching the airport. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the attacker had undergone Islamist radicalization.
“As time passes, the picture is becoming clearer,” Netanyahu said, according to foreign media. “Yaniv and his heroic friends prevented a disaster on the scale of September 11. The attacker underwent Islamist radicalization. He came to crash the plane with its passengers on board. We are now investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price.”
🚨 BREAKING: The terrorist FlyDubai co-pilot has reportedly been identified as Hamam Alhamami. pic.twitter.com/TRiNnVqeTS
Source: Daily Wire
