UAE investigators have revealed claims that a Flydubai pilot accused of plotting a terror attack on an Israeli airport was connected with a Melbourne Islamic centre while studying in Australia. Details of $68,000 in federal funding grants from the Labor government, and the alleged connection between the centre and Omani national Hammam al-Hammami, 29, who is accused of attempting to hijack a passenger plane on September 30, were first reported by News24 at the weekend. GrantConnect records show Multicultural Youth Centre, also known as My Centre, received $36,960 under the federal Community Language Schools Grants Program in March 2024.

News24 first reported details about the grant - which was later increased by a further $31,176.20 in December 2025, bringing total funding to more than $68,000. The program, administered by the Department of Home Affairs, provides funding to help young people learn or maintain languages other than English. UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi has claimed al-Hammami confessed he became acquainted with individuals associated with My Centre while studying in Melbourne in 2017.

It is not suggested Mr al-Hammami was radicalised at My Centre or that the centre has engaged in any wrongdoing - only that the UAE Attorney-General claimed said the pilot confessed to becoming acquainted with individuals connected to the centre. News24 host Sharri Markson says there are chilling new details about the flydubai hijackers’ links to Australia. Mr al-Hammami, an Omani national, is accused of attacking the captain of flight FZ1073 with an emergency axe on September 30 as the aircraft travelled towards Tel Aviv.

Investigators alleged al-Hammami pursued an aviation with the intention of carrying out a 9/11 style attack on Ben Gurion Airport. The attack was thwarted after the injured captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, enabling crew and passengers to intervene before the plane landed safely in Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.

It is alleged al-Hammami became immersed in extremist material glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide bombings before becoming fixated on the September 11 attacks in the US. Appearing on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was unable to answer direct questions about the funding. “I don’t have more information on that. Andrew. I’m sorry. I’ll be able to I’ll be able to find something out on that,” he said. “If I can put it, if I can put it in these terms, it is really important, that we use every lever we have to be able to make sure that we are denying oxygen to people who want to do us harm. “We need to make sure that we are making it harder for them to operate in every single way.” Mr Burke pointed to funding in the federal budget for counter-terrorism and an online centre designed to combat the radicalisation of young people. “That is real, that can’t be ignored,” he said. “But we also have on top of that now, young people being radicalized online, they’re getting younger. They’re often teenagers. “They’re usually male, and it’s often on gaming platforms. “We need to be monitoring where Australians are going online in those sorts of networks and do the same sort of interception work. RMIT confirmed al-Hammami previously studied at the Melbourne University but did not complete an engineering qualification. He arrived in Australia on a student visa in 2014 and lived in Melbourne between 2015 and 2017, before he left the country and his visa was cancelled in 2019, UAE authorities said. In a statement, Australian Federal Police confirmed the Victoria Joint Counter Terrorism Team (VIC JCTT), comprising of the AFP, Victoria Police and ASIO, were investigating any links to Australia. “An update will be provided at an appropriate time,” a spokesperson said. Al-Hammami remains in custody in the UAE.