Flydubai hijack suspect trained as pilot in Britain

The co-pilot accused of trying to hijack an Israel-bound Flydubai passenger jet received professional pilot training in Britain, it has emerged.

Hamam al-Hammami, 29, is understood to have trained with L3 Airline Academy, which operated major aviation training facilities in England, between 2018 and 2019.

The Omani national is being held in Abu Dhabi following last week’s alleged attempt to seize Flydubai flight FZ1073 as it headed for Israel.

According to The Telegraph, which revealed his UK training, Hammami studied with L3 Airline Academy, which has since become part of Acron Aviation.

The company operated training facilities in Southampton and Bournemouth, as well as a simulator centre near Gatwick.

Hammami is accused of attacking the flight’s captain with an axe before crew members and passengers intervened. Israeli reports have said investigators believe he intended to take control of the aircraft and crash it into a target in Tel Aviv in an attack inspired by 9/11.

His aviation training also took him to New Zealand.

New Zealand police confirmed this week that Hammami was granted a six-month student visa for flight training between November 2018 and May 2019 with “a UK-based company no longer operating in New Zealand”.

At the time, L3 ran a programme in which cadets could complete ground training in Britain before travelling to New Zealand for flying experience and later returning to the UK for more advanced training.

The Telegraph also reported that a now-deleted social media account apparently belonging to Hammami documented parts of his time studying abroad and contained posts expressing strict views about women, marriage and religion.

Writing in 2022, he said he had “studied in Australia, Britain and New Zealand for five years” and described his time overseas as “the golden years of my religious commitment”.

In one post, he recalled how “one of my colleagues, during the training in Britain” met a Spanish woman and told her: “I want my wife to wear the niqab and not work after marriage.”

In another exchange, Hammami said a woman would have to “convert to Islam and wear a hijab” if they were to marry.

The account, which used the name “Hamam Al Hammami”, also contained posts referring to women being “stomped on” and given a “pre-emptive slap”, according to The Telegraph.

Hammami later worked for Oman Air, which he left in February 2025. The Telegraph previously reported that he had been removed from flight training by the airline amid concerns over his radical views and transferred to another role.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by L3 Airline Academy, Acron Aviation or other companies connected to his training.

Acron Aviation declined to confirm whether Hammami had been a student, saying it does not disclose information about individual, current or former trainees.

A spokesman told The Telegraph: “We were saddened to hear of this incident, and our thoughts are with everyone affected. As a matter of policy, we do not publicly comment on whether any individual is or has been a student with us.

“We will, of course, assist the relevant authorities, if necessary, in any way we can as they investigate this incident.”