Cockpit Dispute Between Pilots Forces Israel-Bound Flydubai Jet to Divert to Saudi Arabia

A Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday after a reported physical altercation between the two pilots triggered a distress alert, prompting brief hijacking fears and an Israeli fighter jet response.

Flight FZ1073, carrying dozens of Israeli citizens from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport, transmitted an emergency signal mid-route before diverting. All passengers and crew were reported safe after the plane landed.

A regional official briefed on the matter said an altercation broke out in the cockpit, apparently between the two pilots, though the cause was not immediately clear. Israeli media, citing security officials, reported the same account of a dispute between the pilots.

The alert set off an immediate security response in Israel, where officials initially feared the aircraft may have been hijacked. A second official confirmed Israel scrambled fighter jets while the situation was still unfolding.

Passengers described a frightening scene to Israel’s Channel 12, saying they heard shouting from people near the front of the cabin who had apparently overheard the confrontation in the cockpit, and that the plane dropped sharply before landing in Saudi Arabia. After landing, passengers stayed aboard as a heavy Saudi security presence surrounded the aircraft, according to their accounts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the situation was under control and that authorities were working to bring the passengers home. The incident came days after Netanyahu had warned of unspecified heightened security threats to Israel.

Flydubai confirmed the flight experienced an incident en route to Ben Gurion Airport and landed safely in Tabuk. “Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities,” the carrier said in a statement. “Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available.”

The precise circumstances of the cockpit confrontation remained unclear as of Wednesday.

Rare, but not unprecedented

Cockpit disputes serious enough to disrupt a flight are uncommon, though not unheard of. In 2022, two Air France pilots were suspended after fighting in the cockpit on a flight from Geneva to Paris; that aircraft did not divert and landed as scheduled.

The initial hijacking fears carried extra weight given Israel’s history with aviation security, shaped by hijackings and attacks targeting Israeli travelers and aircraft during the 1960s and 1970s. Israel has not experienced an aircraft hijacking in decades and continues to enforce strict security protocols for flights bound for the country.

Flydubai, the budget sister carrier of Emirates, began flying between Israel and the United Arab Emirates after the two countries normalized relations in 2020, opening the UAE to a large volume of Israeli travelers.