Flydubai flight hijack plot: Terror group Al Qaeda hails incident, calls for copycat hijackings

A pro-Al Qaeda media publication has issued an explicit call for fresh terrorist strikes against Western and Israeli aviation, praising the violent mid-air assault aboard a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv. The publication also invoked the September 11, 2001, terror attacks while issuing an explicit call for fresh strikes against commercial airliners carrying American and Israeli citizens.   

The warning appeared in an Arabic-language article published in Al-Bayan, an online newsletter affiliated with Al Qaeda, which openly praised the September 30 mid-air attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073. 

The explicit call appeared on October 2 in the latest edition of Al-Bayan, a weekly newsletter launched in July by pro-Al Qaeda sympathisers. The publication invoked the September 11 attacks alongside the September 30 attempted hijacking of Flydubai Flight FZ1073.  

DON'T MISS | Flydubai flight plunged 14,000 feet in seconds before Saudi diversion; what happened onboard?

“The war isn’t over yet — planes carrying Zionists, Americans and all the other infidels fighting against Islam are still hovering in the skies and can be targeted, as happened on September 11th and 30th,” the Arabic-language article threatened.

The threatening message was accompanied by propaganda images depicting a plane striking the World Trade Center alongside references to the Flydubai assault. The publication further warned that the United States and Israel face growing opposition, asserting that the "empire of evil America" would eventually collapse.   

The propaganda release follows the violent attempted hijacking executed by co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national. Operating at 33,000 feet, al-Hammami attacked Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit with an emergency crash axe in an attempt to seize control and crash the Boeing 737 aircraft.

MUST READ | Flydubai hero: Israel PM invites Captain Smit Machchhar to light prestigious Independence Day flame

Captain Machchhar, despite suffering injuries during the assault, managed to unlock the cockpit door. Passengers and crew members then rushed the flight deck, subduing al-Hammami before the aircraft landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.   

Investigators examining al-Hammami's background revealed that he had previously worked for Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc before joining Flydubai. He had previously come under scrutiny at Oman Air over alleged extremist views and was removed from active flying duties.

Authorities reviewing his social media profiles discovered material featuring Al Qaeda figures, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.   

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that al-Hammami had undergone radicalisation and explicitly intended to crash the plane with its passengers aboard. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates Attorney General, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, confirmed that the UAE has formally classified the high-altitude assault as a terrorist attack as multi-agency investigations continue.