Air France Says It Will Follow Israeli Rules Barring Crew From Entering Certain Countries

The reported restrictions could put airlines that follow Israeli rules at odds with anti-discrimination laws in their home countries.

Air France has confirmed it will comply with new Israeli restrictions on who can fly to and over Israel based on their nationality, a controversial policy that some experts say could expose the airline to discrimination lawsuits.

Israel's new restrictions, reported by Israeli media and the French investigative publication Mediapart, list 31 Muslim-majority countries, including Algeria, Tunisia, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Niger, whose nationals are no longer allowed to fly into Israeli airspace.

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"Like all airlines, Air France is required to comply with the entry regulations imposed by the authorities of the countries it serves, both for its customers and its employees," Air France said in a statement to Al Jazeera.

According to Israel Radio and TV N12, the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety announced on October 1 to foreign airlines that pilots and cabin crew flying into Israeli airspace should not hold citizenship or dual citizenship of countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. The directive was issued a day after an Omani pilot claimed he planned to hijack a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv and crashed into Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on September 30, according to Emirati and Israeli officials. The co-pilot is accused of attacking the Indian pilot of the plane, who is recovering in the hospital.

Air France told Al Jazeera: "The relevant staff have been informed of the new regulations implemented by the Israeli authorities for flights to Tel Aviv."

Israel's directive could affect dozens of airlines flying to, from or over the country. Al Jazeera contacted Israel's Ministry of Transport for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Al Jazeera also contacted the 15 major international airlines flying to Israel and asked them if they had received the directive and changed crew assignments in response.

SmartWings, the largest Czech airline, confirmed it had received the new Israeli directive, and while it said its operations were not currently affected, it added it would abide by the restrictions.

"We received the directive from the Israeli authorities in September 2026. We have carefully reviewed the directive and continue to monitor and comply with all applicable requirements issued by the relevant authorities. Currently, this directive has no impact on our operations, crew management procedures, or the deployment of crew members on flights to and from Israel," Vladimira Dufkova for Algeria told Smartz Vukva.

United Airlines responded, saying they "didn't have anything to share." The US airline did not confirm whether it had received or acted on the Israeli directive.

An internal memo to Air France pilots and cabin crew seen by Mediapart warned that "failure to comply with this directive exposes Air France and employees to possible sanctions".

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the note.

Clara Gandin, a Paris-based anti-discrimination lawyer, said the reported restrictions could put Air France in conflict with French employment law, raising questions about whether an airline can comply with a foreign government's security requirements while ignoring its obligations to its employees.

"This action is based on a collective assumption that turns into a discriminatory bias: every national of these 31 countries, most of whom are Arab or majority Muslim, is treated as a potential security threat," Gandin told Al Jazeera.

He said Air France's acceptance of the directive amounted to "discriminatory harassment".

"Article L1132-1 of the French Labor Code prohibits any discriminatory action on the basis of a person's real or perceived nationality, in particular with regard to assignments, rights and discipline," Gandin said.

So excluding employees from certain flights because they have Algerian, Tunisian, Iranian or another listed Israeli nationality is direct discrimination - even without loss of rights.

With countries listed on Israel's banned nationalities list being predominantly Arab or Muslim, he added, the move could also constitute "indirect discrimination based on origin, and possibly based on perceived religion."

Gandin explained that French law provides notice for a difference in treatment in cases where it is an "occupational requirement", where a move pursues a proportionate "legal objective", and where it is linked to the nature of the job.

"Obviously, nationality is not required to fly the plane. Air France also allows the same pilots and crew to fly any other route, which shows that it does not consider them a safety risk," he said.

The lawyer said Air France has no valid legal justification for adopting Israel's policy.

"Air France's objective is commercial: access to the Israeli market. But economic considerations cannot justify discrimination under the law," Gandin said. And he explained that the goal is Israel's safety, not the company's, and French law looks at the goal pursued by the employer itself, not its customers.

"Specifically, third-party demands cannot transform a protected characteristic into a job requirement," he added, citing a 2017 ruling by the European Court of Justice that was upheld the same year by France's highest court.

"An appropriate response to a security concern depends on an individual assessment, which the French aviation security review currently provides. It cannot rely on nationality alone," Gandin said.

However, the question of whether the restriction is discriminatory under French law is distinct from the authority of a state to regulate access to its airspace and territory.

Analysts pointed to International Civil Aviation Law, which recognizes state sovereignty over territorial airspace under Article 1 of the 1944 Chicago Convention and, subject to certain conditions, the recognition of flight crew licenses issued by other contracting states under Article 33.

Vincent Correa, a professor of aviation law at McGill University in Canada, also pointed to Article 13 of the Convention, which allows states to apply their own rules and regulations regarding the admission of passengers and crew into their territory.

"Therefore, a state can impose immigration restrictions on crew from other countries based on nationality, as crew must go through immigration and customs when flying international routes," Correa told Al Jazeera.

He explained that pilots and other crew from countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations were previously banned from flying there, making the new measure applicable only to dual citizens, which explains why airlines such as Air France may have followed suit.

However, a state's authority to impose entry restrictions does not necessarily exempt airlines from their obligations under other applicable laws, including national anti-discrimination and employment laws, Gandin said.

While Air France can argue about government sovereignty over airspace, "that doesn't change the fact that this action is discriminatory."

Moreover, the lawyer noted, Air France has options: it can choose not to operate the route under these conditions or challenge the directive through the French government, the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) or the European Union.

DGAC had not responded to Al Jazeera's questions by the time of publication.

Therefore, the flagship French airline may be bracing itself for legal consequences.

Injured employees can claim damages and unions can file lawsuits, Gandin said. Gandin said such an act could be subject to criminal laws — punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros ($50,300).

Meanwhile, data protection laws stipulate that information requested from employees must have a direct and necessary connection to their job - according to the lawyer, registering employees who have one of the 31 listed nationalities may indicate ethnic origin and could breach this.