Hijacking Claims Collapse as Pilot Fight Forces Flydubai Diversion

By Staff, Agencies

A Flydubai aircraft landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia today after diverting from its scheduled route from Dubai to “Tel Aviv”, following the activation of two emergency codes while flying over Jordanian airspace before changing course toward Saudi Arabia.

Flightradar reported that the aircraft, carrying around 100 people, flew for some time over Jordanian airspace before continuing over Saudi airspace and landing at Tabuk Airport.

Flydubai announced that the aircraft had landed safely in Tabuk, assuring that all passengers were safe. The airline said flight FZ1073, operating from Dubai to “Tel Aviv”, had experienced an incident in flight and that further updates would be issued once additional confirmed details became available.

According to enemy media, the aircraft first activated code “7700,” indicating a general emergency, and shortly afterward transmitted code “7500,” which indicates a hijacking, triggering a state of alert on the “Israeli” side.

The reports said the “Israeli” Air Force went on full alert, with fighter jets taking off toward the Emirati aircraft. All departures from Ben Gurion Airport were also temporarily suspended pending clarification of the incident.

Later, “Israeli” media reported that the current assessment pointed to an altercation between the two pilots, which prompted a distress call and activation of the emergency codes.

Investigators were reportedly examining scenarios in which the incident resulted from a malfunction or an onboard occurrence rather than a hijacking.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the diversion of the Flydubai flight from the UAE toward Saudi Arabia was not believed to be a hijacking, saying that “the situation is under control and all necessary measures are currently being taken to return our passengers safely.”

“Israeli” media later reiterated that there was no basis for the hijacking account, reporting that the incident resulted from a fight between the pilots and confirming that the aircraft had landed in Saudi Arabia.

The reports also said the aircraft was no longer appearing on flight-tracking applications, while the circumstances of the incident remained under investigation.