The alleged Flydubai attacker is believed to have written hateful social media posts while studying at a British university. Hamam al-Hammami, the co-pilot held in Abu Dhabi after the suspected attempted hijack of an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday, is accused of attacking the flight's captain with the cockpit's crash axe before trying to take control of the plane.
Posts Advocating Violence Against Women
According to new reports, a social media account thought to be linked to al-Hammami advocated violence against women and called for harsh religious punishments. The account said women should be “stomped on” and praised giving a woman a “pre-emptive slap”.
The posts were reportedly made while al-Hammami was enrolled at Buckinghamshire New University (BNU). It has been confirmed the Omani national completed a distance-learning course in aviation management at the university in High Wycombe.
Over 2,000 Posts Analysed
More than 2,000 posts, between November 2021 and August 2022, by an X account that appears to be strongly linked to al-Hammami were analysed by The Telegraph. Using the handle @PilotHamam and name “Pilot Hamam al-Hammami”, the account owner describes themselves as an Omani civilian pilot from Muscat and gives biographical details matching al-Hammami.
According to the newspaper, posts included repeated endorsements of violence against women, support for severe punishments justified by reference to Islamic law and homophobic abuse.
Incident Details and Investigation
In one exchange, the account told a woman: “I’d stomp on your head, wipe the floor with you, make you an example to others, and then divorce you :).” Another post appeared to show support for Russia while endorsing violence against women. In a debate about a man hitting a woman, the account said: “He gave her a pre-emptive slap so she would redefine her boundaries, just as Russia slapped Ukraine to adjust its borders :).” Another post described women the user disapproved of as “cheap meat devoured by anyone and everyone”.
The United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation into the suspected hijacking attempt on Wednesday, described the incident as a “terrorist attack”. The Flydubai plane was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when it was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. More than 180 people were on board the aircraft.
Al-Hammami was allegedly stopped after passengers and crew stormed the cockpit and subdued him as the plane dropped from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (10,000 metres to 5,100 metres) in about a minute. Officials said the co-pilot nearly crashed the aircraft.
University Response
Al-Hammami had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views, reports say. Investigators are working to establish whether al-Hammami acted alone, or whether he has connections with any extremist groups.
On the day of the suspected terror attack, BNU's student sponsor licence was suspended with immediate effect. The university said “many of the issues raised by the Home Office relate to historic international student recruitment activity”, adding it had been given 20 days to respond before the licence was officially revoked.
The Home Office and university told The Telegraph the suspension had been unrelated to al-Hammami or the Flydubai incident. It is understood no concerns were raised or complaints made about al-Hammami while he was studying at BNU.
A BNU spokesperson said the university would launch a review of al-Hammami's time as a student following “material now emerging”. They added: “Our thoughts are with the injured pilot, crew and passengers involved in this incident. Hamam al Hammami previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management. He did not undertake any pilot training at the University.”
Regarding the suspension of BNU's licence to sponsor international students, the spokesperson said: “Since the appointment of a new vice chancellor and executive team in 2025, the university has strengthened its governance, compliance and oversight arrangements, with many improvements implemented before the UK Visas and Immigration audit took place this year.”
According to the university's website, its aviation management courses “look into the background operations, logistics, security and management of the aviation industry”.
