The latest

A Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying around 180 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after transmitting emergency and hijacking codes and descending almost 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds. All passengers were accounted for after Wednesday’s safe landing, while both pilots were hospitalized. Israeli authorities are examining whether one pilot attacked the other and deliberately attempted to bring down the aircraft.

Details

• Emergency signals: Flight FZ1073 transmitted the 7700 general emergency code, followed by 7500, indicating unlawful interference. The aircraft then changed course toward northwestern Saudi Arabia. Israeli fighter jets were reportedly scrambled, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held urgent consultations as officials initially treated the event as a possible hijacking. Netanyahu later cleared his schedule to manage the crisis.
• Cockpit confrontation: Two Israeli officials said the co-pilot was believed to have stabbed the captain before cabin crew entered the cockpit and regained control. Passengers described screams, blood and a knife. One passenger said someone had stabbed the pilot with a pocketknife, while other accounts said passengers and crew intervened during the struggle.
• Ben-Gvir’s accusation: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described the person under investigation as a “terrorist” who had planned to crash the aircraft and kill Israelis aboard. He credited passengers and called for Israel’s security doctrine to be strengthened, while authorities continued reconstructing the cockpit events.
• Security response: The Mossad, Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces and Transportation Ministry are involved alongside aviation authorities. Investigators are examining crew recruitment, background checks, travel documents and security clearance, as well as whether procedures governing foreign crews on Israel-bound flights were breached.
• Nationality questions: Israeli media identified the suspected pilot as Omani, while other reports listed Emirati, Russian or Ukrainian nationality. The accounts were contradictory. Authorities are examining whether the pilot held another nationality or documentation meeting the route’s security requirements.
• Airline account: Flydubai said FZ1073, operating from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport on September 30, experienced an incident and landed safely in Tabuk. It said all passengers were safe and accounted for, and its teams were working with the relevant authorities.

Background

Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations, although Saudi airspace is regularly used by commercial flights linking Israel and the Gulf. Flydubai has maintained Dubai-Tel Aviv services during regional instability, making the incident central to an existing debate over foreign carriers, commercial connectivity and aviation security.

What’s next

Transportation Minister Miri Regev has ordered Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority to examine whether Flydubai breached UAE-Israel aviation agreements and called for the carrier’s immediate suspension pending the investigation. The resulting decision on Flydubai operations will be the next concrete test for the route.