A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an unscheduled landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after an in-flight incident, with all passengers safe, the airline confirmed.
Flight FZ 1073, operating between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Ben Gurion International Airport, diverted to Tabuk (TUU) on September 30.
Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft squawking 7500, the transponder code for unlawful interference, before switching to 7700, the general emergency code, as it flew near Tabuk at around 5,000 feet. The aircraft then landed at Tabuk Airport.
According to a report by Reuters, Israeli officials subsequently reported that the incident was caused by an altercation between the pilots on board. The Israeli military said IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir convened an assessment of the incident with senior officers, including Israeli Air Force chief Maj Gen Omer Tischler, Operations Directorate chief Maj Gen Itzik Cohen, and Intelligence Directorate chief Maj Gen Shlomi Binder.
flydubai has not provided further details about the nature of the incident.
