Israel’s consulate has put up billboards across Mumbai honouring Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar, calling him ‘India’s new hero’.

The tribute follows the September 30 mid-air security crisis on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The Omani co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain in a bid to seize the aircraft.

The plane reportedly dropped about 16,000 feet in two minutes. Despite serious injuries, Captain Machchhar opened the flight deck door, letting crew and passengers restrain the attacker.

The aircraft made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All around 180 people on board were safe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the hospitalised captain on Saturday. He invited Machchhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a flame at Israel’s next Independence Day.

The honour is usually given to Israeli citizens. Netanyahu called Machchhar ‘a hero for Israel, India and the entire world’.

The captain, in his thirties, is stable and recovering. The Indian embassy in the UAE said the ambassador visited him in hospital and remains in close coordination with local authorities.