At about 9:08 this morning a code 7700 signal was received from flight FZ 1073 of flydubai from Dubai to Tel Aviv, indicating an emergency, followed by a code 7500 signal, used to report a hi-jacking. The plane, carrying 174 passengers, was flying over Jordan, and was about 40 minutes away from landing at Ben Gurion Airport. Israel Air Force planes were scrambled. At 9:30, contact was lost with the airliner, but at about 9:50 it was restored and the event behind the signals turned out to be a violent quarrel between the pilot and co-pilot, in which apparently blood flowed.
The flydubai plane landed in Saudi Arabia at about 10:00 am, and the pilot and co-pilot were taken into custody by Saudi Arabian police. Israel’s prime minister and minister of defense held emergency consultations with the heads of the security forces during the incident. One of the possibilities being probed is that one of the pilots was trying to crash the plane, which suddenly descended about 20,000 feet, deliberately.
flydubai’s CEO says that an aircraft has been sent to Saudi Arabia to bring the Israeli passengers back to Israel.
flydubai has become one of the main airlines operating at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, and has continued to fly there over the past three years despite intermittent warfare, while European and North American airlines pulled out. For many Israelis, Dubai International Airport has become a gateway to Asia and Australasia, while Dubai has become a tourist destination in itself.
flydubai is a low-cost airline owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai and Emirates. It operates ten flights daily between Dubai and Tel Aviv.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) has forbidden Israeli airlines to fly to the UAE at least until the end of October because of security concerns.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 30, 2026.
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