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Following new Israeli restrictions, United and Air France reportedly barred citizens of dozens of countries that don't have diplomatic ties with Israel from serving on flight crews to the country

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Israel has reportedly introduced restrictions barring foreign airline pilots and cabin crew who hold citizenship in countries without diplomatic relations with Israel from serving on flights entering its airspace, with United Airlines and Air France reportedly adjusting their crew assignments in response.

The new security measures come after the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv last month by an Omani co-pilot. The incident raised concerns about Israel's screening of foreign flight crews and prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order a review of aviation security.

On Thursday, Israel's Kan public broadcaster reported that the Transportation Ministry's Aviation Security Operations Center had issued a series of new and updated directives following the Flydubai incident. According to Kan, the guidelines bar pilots and flight attendants who hold citizenship in countries that lack diplomatic relations with Israel, including dual nationals.

"The airline is exclusively responsible for ensuring that all flight crew members do not hold citizenship, or are not dual nationals, of countries that do not have official diplomatic relations with the State of Israel," the directive reportedly says.

On Saturday, Live and Let's Fly, an aviation blog, reported that United Airlines had notified its pilots and flight attendants of the new policy, asking affected crew members scheduled to fly to Tel Aviv to contact the airline's scheduling department.

"Our teams will work with you to make any necessary scheduling adjustments," the airline told employees, according to an internal memo that the blog did not publish.

The same day, French investigative website Mediapart reported that Air France had issued a similar memo to its pilots and flight attendants, informing them of the new restrictions and their implications for crew scheduling.

Both outlets published lists of countries whose nationals are barred from serving on flights entering Israeli airspace. The lists include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia, Venezuela and Pakistan, as well as Oman, the home country of the Flydubai co-pilot involved in the attempted hijacking.

Live and Let's Fly reported that the restrictions apply to nationals of 29 countries, while Mediapart listed 31, adding Nicaragua and Colombia.

Business Insider Africa reported on Monday, citing the United Airlines memo, that ten African countries are also included: Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia.

Both Nicaragua and Colombia severed diplomatic ties with Israel in recent years over the war in Gaza. However, Colombia's new president has pledged to strengthen ties, and Bogota's embassy in Jerusalem is expected to officially open later this week.

Netanyahu ordered a review of security procedures for foreign civil aviation four days after the Flydubai incident. He instructed National Security Council chief Shmuel Ben Ezra to appoint an examiner to conduct a thorough review of aviation security. Haaretz previously reported that the National Security Council had warned of shortcomings in the Transportation Ministry's screening of foreign flights.

Haaretz has contacted both United Airlines and Air France for comment.

On September 30, Flydubai Flight 1073 was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when its Omani co-pilot, later identified as Hamam al-Hammami, attacked the captain in an attempt to seize control of the aircraft. Despite his injuries, the captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to intervene. Two other pilots and several Israeli passengers subdued al-Hammami, and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

Last Friday, the United Arab Emirates' attorney general confirmed earlier reports that al-Hammami, inspired by the September 11 attacks, had planned to crash the plane into Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel's largest airport, according to state-run news agency WAM.