In the days following the mid-air attack, additional troubling details have emerged regarding al-Hammami’s employment history and prior behavior within the aviation industry. US media outlets reported that during his previous employment with Oman Air, the national carrier of Oman, serious red flags had already been raised regarding his ideological beliefs. According to these reports, al-Hammami was officially removed from flight training at Oman Air due to deep concerns regarding his radical views. However, rather than being terminated from the company entirely, he was reassigned to a different, non-flying role within the airline. How he was later able to secure a position as a commercial co-pilot with Flydubai remains a key focus of the international inquiry.
In addition to his ties to Oman and Australia, investigators have mapped out al-Hammami’s academic activities in Europe. It has been confirmed that starting in 2020, he enrolled in a distance-learning degree program offered by Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom. He completed the program remotely, graduating in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in aviation management. Following the incident, the UK university issued a statement confirming his graduation but took steps to clarify that his curriculum was entirely academic and did not involve any practical pilot or flight training at their institution.
The incident has raised serious questions within the global aviation community regarding crew vetting procedures, mental health monitoring, and the security protocols surrounding access to emergency tools like crash axes within the cockpit. The fact that an individual who had previously been flagged and removed from flight training at one airline for radical views was subsequently hired and cleared to fly by another major international carrier has prompted calls for tighter oversight.
The investigation remains highly active and fluid, with security agencies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and other nations sharing intelligence. The Australian Federal Police, along with their state and federal security partners, continue to analyze al-Hammami’s past communications and financial records from his time in Australia to identify any potential accomplices or local influences that may have played a role in his path toward the attempted attack.
