N12 reported that Dvir Rubinstein, who serves as director of the Transportation Ministry's Aviation Security Operations Center under an outsourcing arrangement, accepted payments from flydubai for private training and consulting. The broadcaster says he also worked for carriers such as Emirates while supervising those same airlines for the ministry. The overlap has prompted questions about a potential conflict of interest amid renewed scrutiny after the attempted hijacking of flydubai flight FZ1073.
Transport Ministry Security Official Who Oversees Foreign Airlines Also Freelanced for flydubai, Raising Conflict-Of-Interest Concerns
Transportation Minister Miri Regev is seen at Ben-Gurion Airport, central Israel, May 4, 2025 (photo credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)
Dvir Rubinstein, identified as the director of the Transportation Ministry's Aviation Security Operations Center, has been reported to have provided paid private training and consulting to foreign carriers including flydubai and Emirates while supervising those same airlines on behalf of the ministry, N12 said. The revelations come amid heightened scrutiny of Israel's oversight of foreign carriers following the attempted hijacking of flydubai flight FZ1073.
What N12 Reported
According to N12, Rubinstein performs his Transportation Ministry duties under an outsourcing arrangement and is not a civil servant. He owns a private firm called Dvir, offered paid training to airlines in the United Arab Emirates, and has served as a senior security lecturer at Sigma 005 College, which the report says is run by the police.
N12 reported that Rubinstein traveled to the UAE to deliver private training to Emirates and flydubai, then returned to Israel and continued to oversee those airlines in his official ministry role. A job description used in one of his lectures described him as "responsible for all security approvals and permits required for every airline and flight seeking to enter Israel, both in advance and in real time," and added that he "advises airlines around the world that operate flights to Israel."
A flydubai plane carrying passengers from flight FZ1073 arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, after a suspected terror attack aboard their original flight from Dubai to Israel forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, September 30, 2026. (credit: FLASH90)
Ministry Response and Outstanding Questions
"Dvir Rubinstein provides services to the Transportation Ministry as part of an outsourcing arrangement and is not a civil servant. His additional occupations were approved in accordance with the law and are carried out outside his working hours under his engagement with the ministry," the Transportation Ministry told N12.
Neither Rubinstein nor the ministry responded to N12's follow-up requests for comment on Monday, the report said. N12 characterized the overlap between Rubinstein's regulatory responsibilities and his private work for airlines under his supervision as a potential and serious conflict of interest.
Why This Matters
The case raises practical and ethical questions about how aviation security oversight is structured and supervised when officials work under outsourcing arrangements and maintain private-sector ties to the very carriers they oversee. The issue is likely to prompt calls for greater transparency, an audit of outsourcing arrangements, and clearer rules on outside employment for contractors in sensitive regulatory roles.
Photo caption: A flydubai plane carrying passengers from flight FZ1073 arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv after a suspected terror attack aboard their original flight from Dubai to Israel forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, September 30, 2026. (credit: FLASH90)
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