A Flydubai flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to northeastern Saudi Arabia after an incident reportedly involving the aircraft’s pilots, Israeli officials told local media.
Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai International Airport early on Wednesday with about 150 people on board, most of them Israeli. It had been scheduled to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport but landed instead at Tabuk Airport.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said the aircraft transmitted a general emergency signal around two hours after take-off. Minutes later, it briefly switched to a code used to indicate a hijacking before returning to the general emergency code.
Israel’s prime minister’s office said the episode was not believed to have involved a hijacking. Local media, citing Israeli defence officials, reported that the emergency signal was issued after an altercation between the pilot and co-pilot.
Passengers told local media they feared for their lives when the aircraft began descending during the incident. Flightradar24 data showed the plane lost more than 17,000 feet, or over 5,000 metres, in less than two minutes shortly after 05:21 UTC.
The aircraft later briefly entered Jordanian airspace before turning back into Saudi Arabia and beginning its approach to Tabuk. Israel’s air force sent fighter jets in response, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations, according to the report.
A Flydubai spokesperson said the flight experienced an incident while en route and that the airline was working with the relevant authorities. The company said further updates would be provided when more details were available.
Source: BBC News
