Flydubai Cockpit Attack: What It Means for Your Travel Insurance
An onboard attack on a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv has raised urgent questions about international flight safety. For Australian travellers, the incident serves as a critical reminder of how travel warnings affect your insurance cover.
Travel insurance policies generally exclude all coverage, including hijack benefits, if you fly to a destination marked as Do Not Travel by Smartraveller.
What Happened
A Flydubai pilot was stabbed by his co-pilot during a flight bound for Tel Aviv, prompting passengers and crew to intervene and subdue the attacker. The pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, has been hailed as a hero for opening the cockpit door to allow help inside, preventing a major disaster.
How Travel Insurance Can Help
Most comprehensive Australian travel policies include travel delay and hijack benefits, but these are immediately voided if you travel to a region with an active Do Not Travel warning. Because Smartraveller advises against travel to Israel, any claims relating to flights heading there will likely be rejected.
Common Questions
Yes, many policies have a hijack distress benefit that pays an allowance, often up to $1,000 AUD, but this is voided if travelling to a Do Not Travel destination.
For standard routes, travel insurance covers reasonable additional meal and accommodation costs if a flight is diverted due to a mid-air emergency.
Yes, codeshare flights are covered normally under standard policies, provided none of the transit points or final destinations have active government travel bans.