'Woman must wear niqab, stop working': flydubai co-pilot's radical views under scanner

Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, accused of assaulting Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar on a Flydubai flight, has had his radical views on women and religion scrutinized following deleted social media posts. CNN found nearly 3,000 tweets and LinkedIn posts from 2021 and 2022 that displayed deeply religious and misogynistic sentiments.

Al-Hammami expressed difficulty finding a wife who would agree to wear a niqab and cease working after marriage, as well as questioning the impact of mixed-gender workplaces on women, suggesting they could be "ruined" by such environments. The posts also included cockpit footage of a Boeing 737 Max and images of extremist figures.

Al-Hammami's employment with Oman Air was terminated due to extremist views, and he was moved to non-flight roles before leaving the airline. He subsequently worked for Royal Air Maroc before joining Flydubai. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused al-Hammami of facing "Islamist radical indoctrination," though no evidence has been presented to support this claim.