Indonesia slams Israel for discriminating against one of its pilots

Indonesia on Wednesday slammed Israel for discriminating against one of its nationals after Tel Aviv banned an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft from landing for having an Indonesian pilot, local media reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said that Jakarta rejects such actions taken on the basis of “political considerations or one’s nationality,” local English daily the Jakarta Globe reported.

The spokesperson said that every flight authority has the right to set the safety standards for the crew but that this must be done in an “objective, proportionate and risked-based manner.”

“Israel restricts its flight crew from certain countries, including Indonesia based only on their citizenship. This practice is contrary to the non-discriminatory principle and the spirit of international aviation facilitation,” said Yvonne.

Israel ordered an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Tel Aviv to turn back because one of its pilots was Indonesian, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Monday.

The aircraft was about an hour into its flight from Addis Ababa and still in Ethiopian airspace when the order was issued.

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Channel 12 said the pilot’s nationality had been flagged to Israeli intelligence and airport authorities, prompting security officials and the Transportation Ministry to bar the flight from landing.

The plane returned to Addis Ababa, where the pilot was replaced, before departing again and landing in Tel Aviv.

Ethiopian Airlines described the incident as a mistake, saying it had been unaware that the pilot was barred from operating flights to Israel, according to the report.

Channel 12 also said Israeli authorities had instructed foreign airlines not to assign crew members from certain countries without diplomatic relations with Israel to flights bound for the country – namely from Afghanistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Niger, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Venezuela.

The incident comes after an attempted hijacking on Sept. 30 of a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

United Arab Emirates prosecutors said an Omani co-pilot had attempted to seize control of the aircraft and crash it into Ben Gurion Airport. Passengers and crew thwarted the attempt, and the plane landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

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