Foiled flydubai attack clouds regional airline revival

A flydubai flight to Tel Aviv this week narrowly avoided disaster after passengers overpowered a co-pilot who stabbed the captain and appeared to try to crash the plane, Israeli officials said, an incident that is clouding a rebound for regional airlines already grappling with the Iran war.



The circumstances and motives behind the incident remain unclear but ithas once again highlighted security concerns around aviation in the Middle East, where the seven-month Iran war has already spooked the sector and led to pilots facing increased risks from missiles, drones - and stress.



Gulf airlines saw flight volumes collapse to near zero after the February 28 US-Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked the conflict, though carriers have been making a steady comeback, with flights now back at around prewar levels.



James Halstead, managing partner at Aviation Strategy, said it was tough to gauge the fallout of the latest incident while many questions remained unanswered, with the impact likely to be different depending on whether it was terrorism-related or linked to mental health issues as in the 2015 Germanwings crash.