An alleged hijacking attempt on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv on 30 September was averted when passengers and crew stopped the co‑pilot, identified by media as Hammam al‑Hammami, from taking control of the aircraft carrying 182 people.
RMIT University in Melbourne confirmed that al‑Hammami was enrolled in an engineering program but did not complete his qualification. The university added that it could not comment further because the incident remains under investigation. Former RMIT engineering students said they did not recall the student.
Australian police said the man entered the country on a student visa in 2014, began studies the following year, left in 2017, and had his visa cancelled in 2019 after he was no longer enrolled. The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, comprising the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, is investigating his links to Australia.
Additional reports note that a British university confirmed a student named Hamam al‑Hammami had completed a distance‑learning course in aviation management but had not undertaken pilot training there. flydubai has said the incident is still under investigation, and flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv were suspended. The co‑pilot and the Indian captain were taken to the UAE, where the investigation is led, with other countries including Israel participating. The Wall Street Journal reported that Oman had barred the co‑pilot from flying over concerns he had adopted extremist views before he was hired by flydubai.
