NEW DELHI, Oct 14: Air France on Wednesday said it banned Pakistani pilots and crew members from operating flights to and from Israel and confirmed that it was complying with new Israeli restrictions banning pilots and cabin crew holding the nationality or dual nationality of countries without diplomatic relations with Israel from flying to or over the country.
The policy, which affects nationals of 31 countries, including Pakistan, raised concerns over possible discrimination against airline employees under French law.
Al Jazeera reported that the restrictions, reported by Israeli media and French investigative publication Mediapart, cover nationals of several Muslim-majority countries, including Algeria, Tunisia, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Niger.
“Like all airlines, Air France is required to comply with the entry regulations established by the authorities of the countries it serves, both for its customers and employees,” Al Jazeera quoted Air France as saying in a statement. “The staff concerned have been informed of the new regulations implemented by the Israeli authorities for flights to Tel Aviv,” the airline added.
The move comes after the attempted terror attack by Omani co-pilot aboard a FlyDubai flight on September 30. Oman is one of the nations that doesn’t have diplomatic ties with Israel. After the Air France ban on airline crew from 31 nations, including Pakistan, Chicago-based United Airlines also informed their pilots and cabin crew about nationality-based rules for flights to and from Israel.
Notably, these restrictions have raised questions about their implications for international aviation and if more airlines would follow the same to comply with Israeli rules.
Even as Israeli restrictions were in place before the FlyDubai attempted terror attack, they were not actively or strictly enforced, according to reports. Israeli authorities depended largely on foreign airlines to ensure that crew members from countries with which Israel lacks diplomatic relations were excluded from flights to the country, rather than independently verifying their nationalities.
(Manas Dasgupta)