The FlyDubai co-pilot who nearly crashed the Tel-Aviv bound flight is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami. He was barred from flying by Oman amid concerns he showed signs of extremist views. The incident threw the already hard-hit regional travel industry into crisis.
Passengers described rushing the cockpit and a fight for control after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.
UAE Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri told the Euronews Forum that "resilience is the insurance of economies," while Azerbaijan's Hajiyev said his country was "winning in the peace" and Georgia's foreign minister flagged sustained disinformation campaigns.