Israel-bound Flydubai flight diverts after reported cockpit fight

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after transmitting emergency signals, including one used to report a hijacking. Israeli officials told local media that a physical fight between the pilots, not a hijacking, was behind the alert.

The plane landed at Tabuk Airport in northeastern Saudi Arabia instead of its scheduled destination, Ben-Gurion Airport. It was carrying around 150 people, most of them Israeli, according to the BBC. Israeli media, citing security officials, reported that everyone aboard was safe, CBS News said.

Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said the aircraft issued a general emergency code two hours after taking off from Dubai International Airport, then switched minutes later to a code used to report a hijacking. The signal was subsequently changed back to the general emergency code, the BBC reported. CBS News, citing publicly available flight-tracking information, said the plane transmitted an emergency alert shortly after takeoff.

The alert prompted Israel to dispatch fighter jets. A second official who spoke to CBS News confirmed the response, saying authorities feared a hijacking of a plane carrying dozens of Israeli citizens. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations about the incident, according to the BBC.

Netanyahu’s office later said the incident was not believed to be a hijacking. It said the situation was under control and Israel was working to bring the passengers home.

A regional official briefed on the incident told CBS News that a fight had broken out in the cockpit and apparently involved the pilots. The cause of the fight was not immediately clear, the official said. That official and the second official spoke on condition of anonymity because the incident was still under investigation. The BBC reported that local media, citing Israeli defence officials, said the emergency signal was thought to have followed an altercation between the pilot and co-pilot.

Tabuk serves as both a civilian airport and a military base, according to CBS News. The outlet said Netanyahu had warned in recent days of unspecified, escalated security threats. It also reported that Israel has not experienced a hijacking in decades and maintains some of the world’s strictest airport security.

Commercial flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates began after the countries normalized ties in 2020. Flydubai is the lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates. Cockpit fights are unusual: In 2022, two Air France pilots were suspended after fighting during a Geneva-to-Paris flight, according to CBS News. That plane landed as scheduled.