Ethiopian Airlines Plane Forced to Turn Back

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight en route to Israel was forced to turn back mid-air overnight between Sunday and Monday, October 11-12, 2026, after it emerged that one of the pilots operating the aircraft was an Indonesian citizen.

According to Israel's Channel 12, the plane had flown for about an hour from Addis Ababa and was still in Ethiopian airspace when Israeli authorities ordered it to return. The pilot's Indonesian nationality had been detected by Israeli intelligence and airport authorities before landing was denied.

Indonesia has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Under Israeli aviation security rules, nationals of countries without diplomatic ties are considered a security risk and are not permitted to enter or operate flights into Israeli airspace.

Indonesian Pilot Replaced, Flight Continues

Upon returning to Addis Ababa, the airline promptly replaced the Indonesian pilot with another crew member before the plane was cleared to take off again. The flight continued with the replacement pilot and landed in Tel Aviv.

Ethiopian Airlines described the incident as an error, claiming it had not previously known about the restriction barring Indonesian-passport pilots from flights to Tel Aviv.

According to local media reports, the pilot's nationality was identified through security screening while the aircraft was still in Ethiopian airspace. Security officers and Ben Gurion Airport authorities then instructed the plane to reverse course.

Tightening After Alleged Flydubai Hijacking

The incident comes amid massively tightened aviation security screening in Israel. Israel has reportedly instructed foreign airlines not to assign pilots or cabin crew from countries on the restriction list to routes into Israel.

The list reportedly includes nationals of Afghanistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Niger, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Venezuela.

The tightening follows an alleged hijacking attempt on a flydubai commercial flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, 2026, involving a co-pilot of Omani nationality. There has been no official response yet from the Ethiopian or Indonesian governments.