Israel bars United Airlines pilot over pro-terrorist comments

Israel bans United Airlines pilot from entering Israeli airspace over his support for Iran and Hezbollah.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel has barred a United Airlines pilot from serving on flights entering its airspace following allegations that he expressed support for Iran’s Islamic regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Israeli officials confirmed Wednesday.

The pilot, identified as Sina Amjadian, is of Iranian descent and has worked for United Airlines since November 2022. The decision follows heightened scrutiny of foreign airline crews after an attempted terrorist attack aboard a flydubai flight bound for Israel last month.

Israel’s Transportation Ministry issued the restriction after receiving information from the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, which had identified social media allegations concerning Amjadian’s political activities.

The material was subsequently referred to Israeli security and intelligence agencies, which recommended prohibiting him from entering the country as a member of an airline crew.

“The recommendation of the professional bodies was clear — not to allow his arrival in Israel as a member of an aircrew,” the Transportation Ministry said.

The ministry confirmed that United Airlines had been formally notified of the decision and that the restriction would apply to any flight on which Amjadian served as a crew member.

United acknowledged receiving the directive but clarified that Amjadian does not hold the qualifications required to operate the wide-body aircraft used on its Israel routes.

The airline said Amjadian currently operates flights within the United States and between the US and Canada. Consequently, the Israeli restriction does not affect any existing flight assignments.

The allegations against Amjadian originated in social media posts published by third parties rather than statements by the pilot himself presented directly to Israeli officials.

An October 19 letter from Diaspora Affairs Ministry Director General Avi Cohen Scali to senior Israeli security and transportation officials included two posts from X alleging that Amjadian had promoted the Iranian regime and organizations associated with it.

One of the posts, published by open-source intelligence researcher Travis Hawley, alleged that the pilot had filmed himself kissing an Iranian regime emblem, saluting and declaring that the government “won’t fall.”

Hawley also alleged that Amjadian had displayed the Islamic Republic’s flag on his United Airlines uniform, shared material featuring former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and used an image depicting an attack on the Israeli flag.

The researcher argued that the controversy concerned airline security procedures rather than restrictions on political speech.

“Not about policing posts. About deeper background checks, and airlines acting when this surfaces,” Hawley wrote.

However, the allegations have not been independently verified, and the documentation submitted to Israeli authorities did not include the pilot’s original social media posts.

The Diaspora Affairs Ministry said the information nevertheless warranted further examination because of the responsibilities associated with operating commercial aircraft.

“This is information that raises concern and requires a professional security review,” the ministry said, citing the pilot’s responsibility for passenger and crew safety.

The ministry added that it routinely monitors open-source information for antisemitic incitement and threats against Jews and Israelis, and that its aviation-related monitoring had expanded following the September 30 attack aboard flydubai Flight 1073.

During that incident, an Omani first officer attacked the captain of a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight and attempted to seize control of the aircraft, which was carrying approximately 180 passengers, most of them Israeli.

The aircraft reportedly plunged more than 13,000 feet during the struggle before the captain, assisted by crew members and passengers, regained control. The flight subsequently made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The incident prompted an examination of Israel’s procedures for screening foreign flight crews, following reports that pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel had previously operated flights to Ben Gurion Airport.

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