Israel has effectively prohibited Muslim crew members holding dual nationality from flying into the country. Air France is now enforcing an Israeli order that prevents pilots and cabin crew with specific nationalities from operating flights to Israel.
The directive, issued by the Israeli Ministry of Transport on 1 October, targets 31 different nationalities. Algerian, Tunisian, Iranian, and Pakistani citizens are among those listed in the restrictions.
French nationals who also hold one of these 31 nationalities are affected by the new rules. The order focuses on nationality rather than religion to ensure that personnel entering Israeli airspace do not hold citizenship of countries without diplomatic ties with Israel.
Air France informed affected employees that they can no longer operate flights to Israel under these instructions. Staff members have been warned by the airline to declare any second nationality, with failure to do so potentially resulting in disciplinary sanctions.
At least one unnamed Israeli airline is currently conducting background checks on approximately 2,500 pilots and cabin crew members. These measures follow an incident on 30 September where an Omani flydubai co-pilot allegedly tried to seize control of a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight.
The suspect told UAE investigators he acted alone during the attempt. He had previously worked for Royal Air Maroc and Oman Air before joining flydubai in January 2026.
