Addis Ababa:Tel Aviv An Ethiopian Airlines flight en route to Tel Aviv was instructed to return to Addis Ababa because one of its pilots was Indonesian, as reported by Israel's Channel 12.

According to Anadolu Agency, the plane was approximately an hour into its journey when Israeli authorities, having been alerted by Israeli intelligence and airport officials about the pilot's nationality, issued the order. The flight was still within Ethiopian airspace at the time. Security officials and the Transportation Ministry subsequently barred the aircraft from landing in Israel.

The flight returned to Addis Ababa, where the pilot was replaced, allowing it to continue its journey and successfully land in Tel Aviv. Ethiopian Airlines attributed the situation to a mistake, stating it had not been aware that the pilot was prohibited from operating flights to Israel.

Channel 12 further reported that Israeli authorities have instructed foreign airlines not to assign crew members from certain countries, which do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, to flights headed to the country. These restrictions apply to nationals from countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Niger, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Venezuela.

The incident occurred shortly after an attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, where an Omani co-pilot tried to seize control of the plane. The attempt was thwarted by passengers and crew, and the aircraft landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Ethiopian and Indonesian authorities have yet to comment on the incident.