- Australian police confirmed an inquiry into Hamam al-Hammami’s Australian links on October fourth, twenty twenty-six.
- He studied in Australia from twenty fifteen to twenty seventeen; his student visa was cancelled in twenty nineteen after he stopped enrolling.
- The investigation is examining his movements and possible radicalization; no conclusion has been announced.
Australian police confirmed on October 4, 2026, an inquiry into the Australian links of the flydubai hijacker, Hamam al-Hammami. He is an Omani national identified as the flight’s co-pilot.
The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team is handling the investigation. The team brings together the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and ASIO.
An AFP spokesperson confirmed the team was investigating his links to Australia.
“An update will be provided at an appropriate time.”
The inquiry follows a period of study in Australia and a student visa that was later cancelled. Investigators are looking at his time in the country, not simply the fact that he once held a visa.
His visa ended after he stopped enrolling in a course
Sources familiar with the case said Australia granted him an Australian student visa in 2014. He studied in the country from 2015 to 2017, then left that year.
The visa was cancelled in 2019 because he was no longer enrolled in a course. The reported reason was non-enrolment, not character grounds.
That sequence gives investigators a defined period to examine: the years he studied in Australia, followed by his departure and the later cancellation. The cancellation came two years after he left. It was linked to his course status, rather than a finding about his character.
The visa history establishes when he was permitted to study and why the permission was later cancelled. It does not, by itself, establish what he did during those years. Australian authorities are investigating his connections and activities in the country as a separate matter.
His studies spanned 2015 to 2017. The record described by people familiar with the case places the visa grant in 2014 and cancellation in 2019, but does not make the cancellation the focus of the current security inquiry.
Police are examining his movements and possible radicalization
The team is examining his movements and activities in Australia, along with his broader links to the country. One question is whether he was radicalized while he lived there.
The AFP spokesperson said the joint team could confirm it was investigating “the man’s links to Australia.” The statement did not characterize the visa cancellation as a security action. The reported basis for cancelling the visa was that he was no longer enrolled.
The inquiry’s stated subject is broader than his immigration status. Investigators are looking at his Australian connections and time in the country, including the possibility that radicalization occurred during his stay. That is an investigative question, not a conclusion about what happened.
The case also has an investigation outside Australia. A prosecutor in the United Arab Emirates confirmed that authorities there were examining the incident and possible motives.
The two inquiries concern different parts of the case: the Australian team is tracing his links to Australia, while the UAE prosecutor confirmed an investigation into the incident itself and its possible motives. The publicly confirmed Australian probe centers on his connections and activities in the country.
A later aviation course and a separate UAE inquiry add context
After leaving Australia, he reportedly took a distance-learning course through Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom. He completed an aviation management degree in 2023.
The university said a student with his name had “previously completed a distance-learning course in aviation management.” It also said: “He did not undertake any pilot training at the university.”
That account distinguishes aviation management study from pilot instruction. The university’s statement described a distance-learning course and degree; it expressly said he did not receive pilot training there.
Flydubai suspended its Tel Aviv route “until further notice” after the attack. The suspension followed the incident, while Australian authorities continue to examine the co-pilot’s years in the country and the connections he made there.
