Israel turns back Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight over Indonesian pilot's nationality

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight was forced to return to Addis Ababa on Monday after Israeli authorities discovered one of its pilots was Indonesian, a nationality barred from landing in Israel. The plane, en route from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv, was instructed to circle back to Ethiopia, where the Indonesian pilot was replaced by a pilot from a country whose citizens are permitted to fly to Israel.

The cargo flight ultimately continued to Tel Aviv and touched down without incident. Despite Israel's ongoing war on Gaza, and attacks on Lebanon and Iran, Ethiopian Airlines continues to operate flights to and from the country, with plans to increase their frequency. Monday's incident follows a similar event less than two weeks ago involving an Omani pilot allegedly attempting to hijack a Flydubai flight bound for Ben Gurion Airport.

Following this, Israel imposed restrictions barring pilots from 31 countries from landing in the country or crossing its airspace.