Flydubai has put its flights to and from Israel on hold after a serious cockpit altercation on a Dubai-Tel Aviv service forced the aircraft to divert and make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
The disruption followed an incident aboard flight FZ 1073 on Wednesday, September 30, while the aircraft was travelling from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV).
The flight was carrying 174 passengers when the situation unfolded in the flight deck. The airline said the aircraft was diverted to Tabuk Airport (TUU), where Flydubai crew members on duty managed to secure the aircraft and land it safely.
The incident reportedly involved an attempt by the co-pilot to crash the aircraft, although investigations are continuing to establish the full circumstances surrounding what happened.
Flydubai said the temporary suspension of its daily services to and from Tel Aviv will remain in place as authorities investigate the incident and establish the facts.
“This temporary suspension will allow the relevant authorities to continue their work and establish all the facts surrounding the incident. The safety and wellbeing of our passengers, crew and operations remain our highest priority,” the spokesperson said.
The airline said it would reassess the suspension after more information becomes available.
The disruption is limited to its Israel services and has not affected other scheduled operations across the Flydubai network.
Flydubai later confirmed that everyone aboard the aircraft, including the passengers and crew, was safe and accounted for after the emergency diversion.
The September 30 flight was operating normally between Dubai and Tel Aviv before the altercation in the flight deck led to the diversion and subsequent landing at Tabuk.
The airline has not given a date for the resumption of its Tel Aviv flights, saying the decision will depend on developments from the ongoing investigation.