Flydubai flight diversion to Saudi Arabia: Israel rules out hijacking

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying 174 passengers showed an unexpected diversion over Jordanian airspace to Saudi Arabia after the pilot triggered an emergency signal that initially raised fears of a hijacking.

On Wednesday morning, FlyDubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv activated emergency transponder codes 7700 for general emergency and 7500 for unlawful interference like hijacking.

The hijacking concerns prompted Israel to scramble jet fighters. Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office addresses hijacking reports.

According to a spokesperson from the PM office, the flight diversion to Saudi Arabia was not due to any hijacking concerns.

Israeli officials confirmed that the diversion was not caused by any hostile action and is not being treated as a kidnapping and hijacking. Flight trackers showed the plane turning back over Saudi airspace amid reported distress signals.

As reported by Reuters, the emergency was transmitted after the pilots engaged in a physical altercation with each other. However, it remains unclear if the signal transmission was intentional.

Soon after the transmitting emergency signals, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations regarding the flight, and Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir conducted a situational assessment with the air force commander and other military officials.

Flydubai operates daily flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv despite Saudi Arabia and Israel lacking official diplomatic relations.