Flydubai Flight Incident: All Passengers Departed Saudi Arabia, Airport Management Says
Flight FZ 1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv, when an altercation on board led to its diversion to Tabuk. In a statememt, flydubai confirmed all passengers are safe and accounted for.
Recommended For You"Following the statement issued by Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk regarding the emergency landing of flydubai Flight FZ1073 on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, the airport administration would like to clarify that all passengers on the flight have departed for their final destination aboard a replacement aircraft, which took off at 5:40pm," Cluster2 Airports, which manages and operates 22 regional, domestic and international airports across Saudi Arabia reported on X.
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It earlier said that Prince Sultan airport in Tabuk received a notification of a distress call from flydubai flight number (FZ1073), requesting an emergency landing at the airport. The captain and first officer sustained injuries and were immediately transferred to hospital for necessary treatment.
Saudi Arabia's National Transportation Safety Centre said a safety investigation team has begun its work, and the centre is coordinating with the relevant authorities to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, verify aviation safety-related aspects, and collect relevant information and evidence.
Ramped up security checks
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered authorities to "ramp up" security on both on Israeli carriers and non-Israeli carriers after the incident.
"Every pilot that is going to be flying into Israel, we are going to know the pilots' identities, know who they are, and do some type of security check," Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister's office, told Reuters.
"Anywhere that an Israeli is going to be flying into Israel. Our job right now is to do our best - even if they're not on Israeli airlines - to make sure that those security procedures are much higher," he added.
Following the incident, US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the US was coordinating "very closely" with counterparts overseas, including Israel, regarding the flight that was diverted.
Netanyahu meets passengers
Upon arrival in Israel on board another flydubai aircraft, Netanyahu met with the passengers of the diverted flight, a spokesman for the PM told AFP.
A video shared by the premier's office showed Netanyahu at Tel Aviv airport meeting a man named Yaniv and his family, describing him as one of the passengers who managed to break into the aircraft's cockpit. Watch here:
"I salute these heroes," he added, saying "they prevented a major disaster".
Israeli medical emergency teams, Magen David Adom, had previously said they were on standby at Ben Gurion Airport with MICUs and ambulances to meet the passengers arriving in Israel from Saudi Arabia.
(With inputs from Reuters, AFP)
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