Around 100 passengers on the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv which was diverted after an alleged hijacking attempt are preparing lawsuits to seek hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation, according to a report from Israeli tech news outlet Calcalist.
The lawsuits are reportedly targeting the airline, the state of Israel, and the transport ministries of Israeli and the United Arab Emirates, where the flight originated.
The group is likely looking to sue under the Montreal Convention, a global framework on compensation for flight passengers, to which both Israel and the UAE are signatories.
Lawyers are also looking into whether provisions of the 2020 Abraham Accords normalisation deal with Israel were violated, according to the report. This comes after a preliminary review by law firms found a section of the deal which relates to flight regulations between the UAE and Israel.
A steering committee has been formed for the potential legal action, headed by Tzvika Manes, an Israeli passenger who helped restrain the co-pilot, Omani national Hammam al-Hammami, during his alleged attack on the captain. The steering committee also includes fellow passengers Tal Eisenberg, Daniel Schlichter, Itay Perlman, and Shir Maor.
According to Calcalist, the majority of the flight's passengers, around 100 of the 170 who were on board, have submitted powers of attorney authorising the committee to represent them.
Israeli media reports citing legal experts previously said that the passengers could expect as much as $250,000 each in compensation -- a figure which could see the defendants pay in excess of $45 million.
An Emirati prosecutor said on Friday that Hammami had planned to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. Prosecutors added that he was allegedly inspired the by 11 September, 2001 attacks on the United States.
He remains in custody in the UAE.